Episode #698

    Science or Fiction

    • Item #1 Science

      The world’s first stored program computer was created in Manchester.

    • Item #2 Science

      A milestone in scientific history, the first splitting of an atom, happened in Manchester in 1917.

    • Item #3 Fiction

      The Liverpool-Manchester Railroad line was the first public locomotive in the world.

    Skeptical Quote of the Week.

    “British diplomats and Anglo-American types in Washington have a near-superstitious prohibition on uttering the words ‘Special Relationship’ to describe relations between Britain and America, lest the specialness itself vanish like a phantom at cock-crow.” - Christopher Hitchens