Kids & FamilyStories for KidsHistory

Wait... They Did What!?

ABC Australia

Wait... They Did What?! is the question you’ll be asking after travelling back through modern history with comedian Tilly Oddy-Black.

Perfect for kids aged 8 and over, Wait…They Did What?! unearths the weird, wild and outright scandalous common practices of people in the olden days... like letting kids buy fireworks, banning bikinis on the beach, putting blood-sucking leeches on sick people, and riding in cars without seatbelts.

Credits:
Host: Tilly Oddy-Black
Producers: Samantha Turnbull and Soumia Bella
Sound engineer: Que Nguyen
Archive researchers: Michael Osmond and Carolyn Cage
Composer: David McDonald
Executive producers: Veronica Milsom and Alex Lollback

Play

Open in

33 episodes
weekly
Avg 7 min
English

Episodes 33

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

Sunday · 9 min
Wait... they didn’t have streaming services?
You couldn’t watch TV any time you wanted in the 1980s... and you had to actually leave the house to rent movies. This episode will answer questions like: How many TV channels were there in the 1980s? What is a video shop? What is a VCR? What is a VHS? What are video tapes? When were VHS a thing? When did VHS stop being used? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
November 1 · 7 min
Wait... exotic animals performed in circuses?
Lions, tigers, bears and elephants regularly starred in circuses across Australia... until animal rights activists took on the ringmasters. This episode will answer questions like: Are circuses allowed to have exotic animals? Do any circuses still use animals in Australia? Should animals be used in circuses? Did they used to have lions and bears in circuses? Why don't they have exotic animals in circuses anymore? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Till
October 25 · 8 min
Wait... women weren't allowed to work?
Oh hai, husband! what do you mean I have to quit my job? Women had to leave their jobs if they got married... and when they did work, they got paid less than men. This episode will answer questions like: What was the Marriage Bar? What is the gender pay gap? Why are women paid less than men? When were women allowed to work in Australia? Why couldn’t women work in the olden days? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of AB
October 18 · 7 min
Wait... computers were the size of entire rooms?
Before we could carry computers they cost around a million dollars... and were as heavy as about six African elephants. This episode will answer questions like: Who invented the first computer? How big were the first computers? What did computers look like in the 1960s? How much did the first computers cost? What were computers like before laptops? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
October 11 · 7 min
Wait... playgrounds were danger zones?
Playgrounds used to be made from splintery wood and hot, rusty metal... and the ground surfaces were asphalt or concrete – ouch! This episode will answer questions like: What did playgrounds look like in the 1970s? Why did they take away wooden playgrounds? What types of injuries did playgrounds cause? Why are there woodchips in playgrounds? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
October 4 · 8 min
Wait... they banned books?
Harry Potter, Andy Griffiths and Batman were all banned... by Australia’s ruthless book police. This episode will answer questions like: Why were books banned? What books were banned in Australia? Who bans books? When were books banned in Australia? Who banned books in Australia? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
September 27 · 8 min
Wait... Indigenous kids weren't allowed to swim at the pool?
Imagine being banned from your local swimming pool because of the colour of your skin… that's what happened to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids in the 1960s. This episode will answer questions like: What is racial segregation? How were First Nations peoples treated in the 1960s? What was the Freedom Ride? How did segregation impact the lives of Indigenous Australians? Was there racial segregation in Australia? Find more episodes of kids' history podcast Wait… They Did What!? with Til
September 20 · 8 min
Wait... schools taught girls how to be posh?
Dahhhhling! In the 1960s girls went to deportment schools to learn how to be ‘ladylike’... and women were also taught how to be ‘good wives.’ This episode will answer questions like: What is deportment school? What do you learn at deportment school? Do deportment schools still exist? Why did they make girls walk with books on their heads? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
September 18 · 7 min
Wait... computers were the size of entire rooms?
Before we could carry computers they cost around a million dollars... and were as heavy as about six African elephants. This episode will answer questions like: Who invented the first computer? How big were the first computers? What did computers look like in the 1960s? How much did the first computers cost? What were computers like before laptops? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
September 13 · 7 min
Wait... bike helmets weren’t compulsory?
You were allowed to ride your bike without a helmet until the 1990s... and lots of cyclists kicked up a stink when the law changed. This episode will answer questions like: When did helmets become law in Australia? Why did cyclists refuse to wear helmets? When did cricket players start wearing helmets? What’s a stack hat? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
September 6 · 7 min
Wait... people only travelled overseas by boat?
If you wanted to travel overseas in the olden days, it took the whole school holidays... because you had to go by boat. This episode will answer questions like: When did planes replace ships? How long did it take to travel overseas by ship? When did cruise ships become popular? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
August 30 · 6 min
Wait... discos were run by the police?
Buddies, bangers and... hold on, police? Blue Light Discos were a vibe in the 80s and 90s. This episode will answer questions like: What is a Blue Light Disco? What did kids do at Blue Light Discos? Were Blue Light Discos cool? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
August 23 · 7 min
Wait... they burnt their rubbish?
Burn, baby, burn... garbage inferno! Before wheelie bins, Aussies used to burn all their rubbish... in their own backyards. This episode will answer questions like: How common were backyard incinerators? When were incinerators banned in Australia? Why were incinerators banned in Australia? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
August 16 · 7 min
Wait... they ate rabbits?
We all think bunnies are cute, but most Australians also used to think they were super tasty... until they became infected with a deadly disease. EWW! This episode will answer questions like: What is myxomatosis? Are rabbits a pest? Why did Australians eat so much rabbit? Why don’t we eat rabbits anymore? Can you eat rabbit? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
August 9 · 10 min
Wait... they didn't pay Indigenous workers and they stole their land?
Indigenous workers were often paid less than white people... if they were paid at all. Hundreds of Indigenous workers went on strike in the 1960s because they weren’t being paid fairly... and it led to the government returning some of their stolen land. This episode will answer questions like: Who is Vincent Lingiari? What was the Wave Hill Walk-Off? What was the Gurindji strike? Why did Gough Whitlam pour sand into Vincent Lingiari’s hand? Did they used to pay Indigenous workers? Find m
August 2 · 7 min
Wait... they used encyclopaedias?
Before the internet, many Australian families owned a set of encyclopaedias... and they bought them from door-to-door salesmen. This episode will answer questions like: What is an encyclopaedia? Do encyclopaedias still exist? What is better: the internet or encyclopaedias? What is an encyclopaedia salesman? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen. 
July 26 · 6 min
Wait... they drank raw milk?
Milk used to be delivered to homes in glass bottles... and it was often raw. This episode will answer questions like: What is raw milk? Is raw milk legal in Australia? What is a milko? What happened to milkmen? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.
July 19 · 7 min
Wait... women had to obey their husbands?
Old-fashioned wedding vows made brides promise to obey their husbands... and change their names. This episode will answer questions like: What are traditional wedding vows? Does it say ‘obey’ in wedding vows? Why do women change their names after marriage? Should women change their names? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen. 
July 12 · 6 min
Wait... they didn't wear seatbelts?
Up until the 1980s kids didn’t have to wear seatbelts in cars... there were no rules about baby and toddler seats either. This episode will answer questions like: When were seatbelt laws introduced in Australia? When did baby seats become mandatory in Australia? Why is it compulsory to wear a seatbelt? When were seatbelts invented? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen. 
July 5 · 8 min
Wait... they had to be 21 to vote?
Some people think under 18s should be able to vote... but the legal voting age in Australia used to be 21. This episode will answer questions like: Who can vote in Australia? What age is an adult? Why did the voting age in Australia change? Why can’t people vote under the age of 18? Find more episodes of kids’ history podcast Wait... They Did What!? with Tilly Oddy-Black on the Kids tab of ABC listen.

Showing 1–20 of 33 episodes