Standards make everything easier. When everyone can agree on a standard way to do things, regardless of how it is done, it can reduce confusion and facilitate progress. You’d think if there was one thing that would be standardized everywhere, it would be the side of the road everyone drives on. I mean, there are only two options. Yet, there is no global standard for what side to drive on.

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In 2002 the BBC did a poll where they named the top 100 Britons in history. It had many people you have probably heard of, including Isaac Newton, Princess Diana, John Lenon, and Queen Victoria. The person who was ranked #2, however, is someone that many people outside of the UK might not have heard of. Yet, he really is one of the most important people when it came to the development of the modern world. Learn more about Isambard Kingdom Brunel on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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László Polgár was born just after World War II in Hungary. His field of study was the nature of human intelligence. After studying the lives of over 400 great intellectuals from throughout human history, he came to a startling conclusion: geniuses weren’t born, they were made. So he set about conducting an experiment on his own children. The results were astonishing. Learn more about Judit, Susan, and Sophia, the incredible Polgar sisters, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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On May 7th, 1824, in Vienna, Austria, the musical world changed forever. The assembled crowd in the Theater am Kärntnertor heard one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary musical performances in history. However, there was one person in attendance who didn’t hear the performance. The composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. Learn more about Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and how it changed the musical landscape forever, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate.

A note on notes: We’d much rather you just went into each episode of The Memory Palace cold. And just let the story take you where it well. So, we don’t suggest looking into the show notes first.

Music:

• Flowering Jasmine as performed by Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Batica.

• Kaspburger by Clogs

• 20 (Lichen) by Berndan Eder Ensemble

• Fall Again by Duval Timothy, Lil Silva and Melanie Faye.

• Wurzer by H.Takahashi

• Bone Collector by Julian Lage and Chris Etheridge

• Titan’s Island by Ancient Oceans

Notes:

• My favorite account (among many) of Richard Etheridge and the story of the Pea Island Surfmen is Fire on the Beach by David Wright and David Zoby.

The British House of Commons has been called the Best Club in Town due to the fact that there is a 1,000-gallon vat of Scotch whiskey located in the cellar. However, I prefer to think of it as a roach motel. Because technically, once you are elected to Parliament, you can’t leave. It is actually illegal to resign from the House of Commons. Yet, people seemingly do all the time. Learn more about the convoluted way you can quit the House of Commons on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Every year around June, millions of people will wear robes and put on funny flat hats to receive their university degrees. But why do they all wear robes, and what’s the deal with that flat hat, and why does the hat have a frilly thing hanging off of it? And why do we give out degrees named after unmarried men? And why are some people called a doctor if they don’t have any patients? Learn more about the history of academic degrees on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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In 1942, two and a half years into the Second World War, the British were facing a problem. While the British Navy mostly commanded the Atlantic, the Germans had one significant advantage: The battleship Tirpitz. Rather than attack the Tirpitz head-on, they came up with an alternate plan which would effectively limit the effectiveness of the battleship. Learn more about The St. Nazaire Raid on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Who do you think what the wealthiest athlete in history? Maybe Michael Jordan. Perhaps Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. Or maybe Lionel Messi or LeBron James? Well, historically speaking, if you added up the fortunes of all of those people, they probably couldn’t compare to one man who competed in ancient Rome. A man who put his life at risk far more than any golfer or tennis player. Learn more about Gaius Appuleius Diocles on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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