1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hello everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events 3 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: in history in this episode, one from me and one 4 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: from Tracy V. Wilson. They're both good, if I do 5 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: say so myself. On with the show. Welcome to this 6 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot com 7 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: and from the desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class. 8 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: It's the show where we explore the past one day 9 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: at a time with a quick look at what happened 10 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: today in history. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 11 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: Tracy B. Wilson and it's January ninth. The first modern 12 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,560 Speaker 1: circus was staged for the first time on this day 13 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: in seventeen sixty eight, although it was not nearly as 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: elaborate as what we would probably call a circus today. Today, 15 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: we think of a circus as a spectacle that happens 16 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: in a tent or an arena, with some combination of clowns, acrobats, 17 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: beats of dare devilry, and trained animals, although there's a 18 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: lot of mixing and matching from one so this company 19 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: to another, and from place to place. For example, in 20 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: some parts of the world, circuses are really likely to 21 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: have acrobats, but not likely to have trained animals. Really depends. 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: This kind of entertainment, though, goes all the way back 23 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: to antiquity. The Circus Maximus in Rome, for example, was 24 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: home to chariot races and public games. It could hold 25 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: as many as a hundred and fifty thousand spectators, and 26 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: events at the Circus Maximus often involved a parade of animals, 27 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 1: sort of like a circus parade. And then throughout the 28 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: centuries since then, all around the world there have been 29 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: amusements and spectacles that combined various aspects of what we 30 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: would think of as a circus. But when it comes 31 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: to the first modern circus, that one from seventeen sixty eight, 32 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: that credit goes to Philip Athlete of England. He had 33 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: been a sergeant major in the cavalry and he had 34 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: figured out that if you were on horseback, and if 35 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: your horse was riding in a very tight circule goal, 36 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: that it allowed you to do a number of stunts. 37 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: So he decided to do some of this in public. 38 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: This first performance in seventeen sixty eight had several of 39 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: the hallmarks of a typical circus today. There was a 40 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: ring there was an audience, and there were his feats 41 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: of daring do. This ring was not his own invention. 42 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: Other trick riders had been using them for the same 43 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: purpose that he was, to keep the horse galloping in 44 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,799 Speaker 1: the correct circle. He did not come up with the 45 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: name circus either. That came from a competitor. He started 46 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: up a similar amusement not far away later on. But 47 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: this first performance of basically riding trickery led to him 48 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: expanding things. He added in more entertainments and more amusements. 49 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 1: He started adding other horseback riders and acrobats and musicians. 50 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: He added his first clown in seventeen seventy. Eventually he 51 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: put a roof over the ring and started using it 52 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: for other kinds of performances as well. He called this 53 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 1: Astley's Amphitheater. Astley then went on to open more circuses, 54 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: and so did other people, including that competitor who coined 55 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 1: the name circus. Circuses started spreading beyond Europe in the 56 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: late nineteenth century, including to the United States. John Bill 57 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: Ricketts was the first to really do multiple types of 58 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: circus entertainment in the same show at the same venue. 59 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: He was doing that starting in sevente three. So if 60 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: Philip Astley had just stuck to horsemanship and had not 61 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: branched out into any other amusements, we probably wouldn't think 62 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: of him as the father of the modern circus as 63 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: he's described today. But the fact that he started with 64 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: his one horse show and then he added in so 65 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: many other things that became this spectacle with multiple types 66 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: of amusements, uh working together under one tent or one reef. 67 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: That's why he tends to get the credit now for 68 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: being the founder or the father of the modern circus. 69 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: Thanks to Casey Pegram and Chandler Maze for their audio 70 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: work on this show. You can subscribe to This Day 71 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: in History Class on Apple Podcast, Google podcast, I Heart 72 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: Radio app, and wherever you get podcasts. Tomorrow we will 73 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: have a crossing that turned out to be really dramatic. 74 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to This Day in 75 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: History Class, where we uncover a new layer of history 76 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: every day. The day was January nine. Radio astronomers Alexander 77 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: Volstein and Dale Frail announced the discovery of two planets 78 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: orbiting the pulsar p s R B twelve fifty seven 79 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: plus twelve. It was the first confirmed discovery of exo planets. 80 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: Exo Planets are planets beyond our Solar system. People have 81 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: thought that there were planets around other stars for centuries, 82 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: but scientists did not have the tools to detect them, 83 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: and there was no way to know what extra solar 84 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: systems looked like and whether there was life there. Astronomers 85 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: in the nineteenth century claimed that they'd seen exo planets, 86 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: but their observations were discredited. The first evidence of a 87 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: possible exo planet orbiting a white dwarf named van Man 88 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: in two was recorded in nineteen seventeen, and in nineteen 89 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: scientists first proposed the existence of the exo planet Gamma 90 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: cph i a B, but it was not confirmed to 91 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: be an orbit around the star Gamma c p I 92 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: A until two thousand and two. Using the Odd CBO 93 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 1: observatory in Puerto Rico, astronomers Volan and Frail searched for 94 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: new pulsars. In February of nineteen ninety, Vulsion discovered a 95 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: pulsar in the constellation Virgo that spun on this axis 96 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty one times per second for a 97 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: rotation period of six point twenty two milliseconds. The pulsar 98 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: was called p s R twelve fifty seven plus twelve, 99 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: with ps R standing for pul stating source of radio 100 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: and the following numbers representing the pulsars right ascension and 101 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: degrees of declination. Modern conventions prefix older pulsar names with 102 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 1: the letter B, since before pulsars were given names according 103 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,799 Speaker 1: to their positions in the B nineteen fifty coordinate system. 104 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,039 Speaker 1: Now they're given names based on their position in the 105 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: J two thousand coordinate system. But the pulsar had a 106 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: regularities in its pulsation period. Vulsion and Frail discovered that 107 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: there were at least two planets orbiting PSR B twelve 108 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: fifty seven plus twelve. The exo planets were named ps 109 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: R twelve fifty seven plus twelve C and ps R 110 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: twelve fifty seven plus twelve D or Poltergeist in Fobitour, respectively. 111 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: Both are around four times as massive as Earth. One 112 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: has an orbital period of sixty six point five days 113 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: and the other nine eight point two days. Because the 114 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,239 Speaker 1: exo planets are constantly hit with radiation from the pulsar 115 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: they're orbiting, they are rocky and cannot support organic life. 116 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: On January nine, Brill and Vulsion published a paper in 117 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: the journal Nature announcing their discovery of the two exo planets. 118 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: Two years later, Vulson and his colleague Mac Konaki discovered 119 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: a third planet in the system. It is less massive 120 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: than Earth and has an orbital period of twenty five 121 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: point three days. The planets likely formed from matter ejected 122 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: into space during the supernova explosion that created the star. 123 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: In Michelle Mayor and Didya k Low discovered the first 124 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: known exo planet orbiting a star similar to the Sun. 125 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 1: Since thousands of exo planets have been discovered, most of 126 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: them confirmed by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope using the transit method. 127 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: The transit method detects exo planets by measuring the dimming 128 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: of a star as an orbiting body passes between it 129 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: and Earth. If the dimming happens at regular intervals and 130 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: last a set amount of time, then it's likely that 131 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: a planet is orbiting the star. The intensity of the 132 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: dimming helps scientists determine the size ratio between the star 133 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: and the planet. Exo Planets have also been discovered using 134 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:48,719 Speaker 1: other indirect methods, like the radial velocity method. I'm eaves 135 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: jeffco and hopefully you know a little more about history 136 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. I want to impress your 137 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: Internet crush show them your history smarts by sharing something 138 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,199 Speaker 1: you learned on the show. Don't forget to tag us 139 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: at t D I h C podcast. Our email address 140 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: is this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks 141 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: for listening, Mary History to all, and to all a 142 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: good night. For more podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit 143 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 144 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.