
Who Ate the First Oyster?
The Extraordinary People Behind the Greatest Firsts in History
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Narrated by:
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Dennis Boutsikaris
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By:
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Cody Cassidy
About this listen
Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? Who invented soap? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations.
Who invented the wheel? Who told the first joke? Who drank the first beer? Who was the murderer in the first murder mystery, who was the first surgeon, who sparked the first fire - and most critically, who was the first to brave the slimy, pale oyster?
In this audiobook, writer Cody Cassidy digs deep into the latest research to uncover the untold stories of some of these incredible innovators (or participants in lucky accidents). With a sharp sense of humor and boundless enthusiasm for the wonders of our ancient ancestors, Who Ate the First Oyster? profiles the perpetrators of the greatest firsts and catastrophes of prehistory, using the lives of individuals to provide a glimpse into ancient cultures, show how and why these critical developments occurred, and educate us on a period of time that until recently we've known almost nothing about.
©2020 Cody Cassidy (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"A fun and enlightening quick trip through all the clever, stupid, dangerous, and gross human firsts that we've all wondered about." (Zach and Kelly Weinersmith, New York Times best-selling authors of Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything)
"In this fascinating and entertaining book, Cody Cassidy has done what might seem impossible: illustrating the identity, life, and death of some of the most momentous - and entirely anonymous - figures in human (and prehuman) history." (Ryan North, author of How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler)
"Illuminating and entertaining.... Cassidy humanizes prehistory with wit and a firm grasp of the science behind these anthropological case studies. Enthralled readers will develop a new appreciation for the ancient past." (Publishers Weekly)
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- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious - curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.
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Fails as an audio book.
- By Sarah H on 12-10-20
By: Josh Clark, and others
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Ask a Historian
- 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know
- By: Greg Jenner
- Narrated by: Dan Schreiber, Greg Jenner, Janina Ramirez, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Responding to fifty genuine questions from the public, Greg Jenner takes you on an entertaining tour through history from the Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties, revealing the best and most surprising stories, facts and historical characters from the past. From ancient joke books, African empires and the invention of meringues, to mummies, mirrors and menstrual pads—Ask A Historian is a deliciously amusing and informative smorgasbord of historical curiosities.
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best bonus content ever!
- By Matthew K Wendelken on 03-24-22
By: Greg Jenner
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On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down
- By: James Fell
- Narrated by: Kelli Tager, James Fell
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Nazis are bad. The worst kind of bad. There are no very fine people among them. If you disagree, you won’t like this book. Still here? Cool. You are about to receive an education unlike any you’ve previously experienced. In this uproarious and informative tour from ancient times to the modern day and everything in between, James Fell, the self-proclaimed “sweary historian,” reveals a past replete with deeds both noble and despicable. Throughout the book, he provides insightful analysis of all the sh!t that went down. Behold!
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Rad.
- By Christine C. Keiser on 11-21-23
By: James Fell
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How to Take Over the World
- Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain
- By: Ryan North
- Narrated by: Ryan North
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Bestselling author and award-winning comics writer Ryan North has the answers. In this introduction to the science of comic-book supervillainy, he details a number of outlandish villainous schemes that harness the potential of today’s most advanced technologies. Picking up where How to Invent Everything left off, his explanations are as fun and elucidating as they are completely absurd.
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A hilarious exploration of selfish altruism
- By jjordanpalmer on 09-07-22
By: Ryan North
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Stuff They Don't Want You to Know
- By: Ben Bowlin, Matt Frederick, Noel Brown
- Narrated by: Ben Bowlin, Matt Frederick, Noel Brown
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Conspiracies didn’t always seem so clear and present. It used to be that people with tin-foil hats who were convinced of secret messages coming through the radio were easily disregarded as kooks and looney tunes. But these days, conspiracies feel alive and well. From internet rumors to lying politicians to the tinderbox that is social media, it’s become clear that a vast swath of people believe really bonkers things. Podcast hosts Ben Bowlin, Matthew Frederick, & Noel Brown discern conspiracy fact from fiction regarding "stuff" the government doesn’t want you to know.
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Just as good as the podcast
- By Alana Talbert on 01-03-23
By: Ben Bowlin, and others
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Gory Details
- By: Erika Engelhaupt
- Narrated by: Mari Weiss
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled to the brim with far-out facts, this wickedly informative narrative from the author of National Geographic's popular Gory Details blog takes us on a fascinating journey through an astonishing new reality. Blending humor and journalism in the tradition of Mary Roach, acclaimed science reporter Erika Engelhaupt investigates the gross, strange, and morbid absurdities of our bodies and our universe.
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Feels like old school Discovery channel
- By Anonymous User on 02-15-23
By: Erika Engelhaupt
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The Greatest Nobodies of History
- Minor Characters from Major Moments
- By: Adrian Bliss
- Narrated by: Adrian Bliss, Beth Rylance, Sebastian Humphreys, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The lives of Leonardo da Vinci, Henry VIII, and Queen Victoria fill bookshelves and fascinate scholars all over the world. But little attention is given to the ferret who posed for the Renaissance master, the servant who oversaw the Tudor’s toilet time, or the famous horse who thrilled the miserable old monarch. These supporting cast members have been waiting in the wings for too long, and Adrian Bliss thinks it’s high time they join their glory-hogging contemporaries in the spotlight. Fortunately, now they can.
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Nothing like his video comedy
- By Jono on 11-14-24
By: Adrian Bliss
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What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
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Interesting book, horrible narrator
- By Peter on 02-18-24
By: Randall Munroe
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Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
- By: Phil Mason
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon's Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason's many revelations, you'll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You'll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield.
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They just throw the facts too fast
- By Concerned_llama on 12-11-20
By: Phil Mason
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The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth
- And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine
- By: Thomas Morris
- Narrated by: Thomas Morris, Ruper Farley
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A puzzling series of dental explosions beginning in the 19th century is just one of many strange tales that have long lain undiscovered in the pages of old medical journals. Award-winning medical historian Thomas Morris delivers one of the most remarkable, cringe-inducing collections of stories ever assembled.
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Boring Toilet Humor
- By Nemo on 01-30-20
By: Thomas Morris
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How to Invent Everything
- A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler
- By: Ryan North
- Narrated by: Ryan North
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past...and then broke? How would you survive? With this book as your guide, you'll survive - and thrive - in any period in Earth's history. Best-selling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North tells you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted - from first principles. This manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up.
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Get the book
- By Tim McNerney on 11-26-18
By: Ryan North
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What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at ninety percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away? In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators.
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A talented and intelligent author, artist, mathlete (want sum?)
- By Crag B. on 04-24-25
By: Randall Munroe
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Truth
- A Brief History of Total Bullsh*t
- By: Tom Phillips
- Narrated by: Tom Phillips
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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We live in a “post-truth” world, we’re told. But was there ever really a golden age of truth-telling? Or have people been lying, fibbing, and just plain bullsh*tting since the beginning of time? Tom Phillips, editor of a leading independent fact-checking organization, deals with this question every day. In Truth, he tells the story of how we humans have spent history lying to each other - and ourselves - about everything from business to politics to plain old geography.
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A fun, informative book
- By GJW on 05-09-23
By: Tom Phillips
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The United States of Absurdity
- Untold Stories from American History
- By: Dave Anthony, Gareth Reynolds, Patton Oswalt - foreword
- Narrated by: Dave Anthony, Gareth Reynolds
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The creators of the podcast The Dollop present profiles of the weird, outrageous, NSFW, and downright absurd tales from American history that you weren't taught in school. The United States of Absurdity presents short, informative, and hilarious stories of the most outlandish (but true) people, events, and more from United States history.
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Fun With Useless Facts
- By Keith on 05-21-17
By: Dave Anthony, and others
What listeners say about Who Ate the First Oyster?
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-28-23
Things you probably never thought of
A small few of us ever take the time to understand how civilizations before advanced and the perils they faced to lay foundation for who we are today. This book takes you on that journey. It is a bit wonky in the beginning of the read as the author sets the structure for marking historical time by relating it to time on a clock, but don't let that stop you as it is a good ploy. This book is thought provoking and will make you wiser for sure.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mark
- 04-17-24
listened to the whole thing in one day
I love science, and I loved history, this book scratched that itch quite nicely. it was great paced and kept this ADD brain's attention (which is hard to do I might add).
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1 person found this helpful
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- Phillip Coffey
- 09-17-21
Interesting material and an excellent reading performance
I found the book’s premise intriguing, identify the first people to do, discover, or invent something. The author goes in depth to give us the best possible answer and while diving into material that can be at times somewhat dull does an excellent job of keeping the reader engaged and interested. The audible performance of the book was excellent and I really enjoyed the performers deep steady voice and pace.
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- Faithfully
- 03-25-24
Great Stories
This book was very entertaining.
I enjoyed from first to last story. I was able to enjoy while towards end of day. Each story was so interesting and attention grabing. Good author!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sarah
- 06-14-21
Fascinating Book!
I loved this book, from the topic to the performance, and the way its written. Cassidy does a great job of communicating complex ideas in science about human development and making connections to the modern day. This is an approachable read with humor and a wealth of fascinating information. It's a great way to further understand all the ways that we've benefited from the contributions of generations before us.
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- Gail L'esperance
- 08-25-24
The science and evidence
I loved how individuals, intrad of generic people, were brought to life as the Firsts to accomplish something.
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- Michael R.
- 12-11-24
A Fun Read!
A series of short stories answering all sorts of questions that I’ve always wondered about. Educational and great fun!
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- Doug Drader
- 12-26-24
fun, a bit of presumption, mostly based on evidence.
this audible book is entertaining and interesting from start to finish. it's a quick breeze through much of human history. the only knowing part is the assumption of evolution and an atheistic perspective on human history. otherwise it's a great read.
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- Alberto
- 12-08-22
Not what I expected, but a pleasant surprise
I picked this up hoping to listen to a bit of a fun fact list of "firsts" in our recent history, but this goes way back to the beginning of our species and although it may not mention the specific first people to do something, it delves into the type of person they might have been and how their customs and environments moved them to these discoveries.
This is a little book on the history of our species, able to stay short by focusing only on "firsts" and as such bringing so much insight into our species; not only how we evolved, but WHY we evolved. I absolutely recommend this for history buffs or anyone that can enjoy a documentary for its historical accuracy
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- Anat
- 12-26-22
Interesting and fun
This was a bit anecdotal, but still quite fun and interesting. It’s basically a really nice collection of archeological facts put together in an interesting way. So if you’re looking for a super light archeological read, this book will definitely do.
Also, I’m not usually a fan of authors narrating their own books, but he did a pretty good job. Worked out just fine!
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