Episode Summary
Executive Summary: This episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class explores “Six Impossible Episodes” about nursery rhymes, showing how most popular origin stories are late, speculative, and often unsupported. Tracy and Holly examine Humpty Dumpty, Sing a Song of Sixpence, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, Hickory Dickory Dock, Georgie Porgy, and Little Miss Muffet, contrasting folklore with evidence and highlighting how later interpretations often say more about cultural mythmaking than history.
Main Topics: Humpty Dumpty: egg, cannon, or word history? (Priority: 5/5): The hosts trace the rhyme’s earliest publication, note older uses of “Humpty Dumpty,” and challenge popular theories tying it to Richard III or a cannon in the English Civil Wars. Sing a Song of Sixpence and invented explanations (Priority: 5/5): They review the rhyme’s early appearances, the Henry James Pye satire claim, and later speculative readings involving kings, monasteries, pirates, and a real recipe for birds baked in a pie. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush as a didactic song (Priority: 4/5): The segment explores the rhyme’s use in schools, its varying plant references, possible links to prison exercise yards, and the possibility that it was created as a hygiene/grooming teaching tool. Hickory Dickory Dock and competing etymologies (Priority: 4/5): The hosts discuss it as a counting song, possible links to shepherd counting systems, Richard Cromwell, Exeter Cathedral’s clock, and a controversial Low Saxon/Old English anti-Catholic reading. Georgie Porgy and historical figure speculation (Priority: 3/5): They examine attempts to connect the rhyme to George Villiers or George IV, while emphasizing that the evidence for these identifications is weak or absent. Little Miss Muffet and Victorian/modern mythmaking (Priority: 4/5): The hosts present interpretations linking the rhyme to Mary, Queen of Scots or Dr. Thomas Muffet, but note the lack of conclusive evidence and discuss the meaning of 'tuffet.'
Key Arguments: Many nursery rhyme origin stories are much newer than the rhymes themselves and often appear to be retrofitted explanations rather than evidence-based histories. Humpty Dumpty’s published text does not prove it refers to an egg, Richard III, or a cannon; the rhyme’s imagery and the word’s older uses complicate those claims. Sing a Song of Sixpence existed in print before Henry James Pye became poet laureate, weakening the claim that it was invented specifically as a satire on him. The mulberry bush rhyme likely functioned as a children’s instructional song, especially for hygiene and grooming, rather than as a coded historical reference. Hickory Dickory Dock may reflect counting-song traditions or local clock imagery, but claims about Low Saxon origins and anti-Catholic meaning are highly speculative. The repeated pattern of assigning famous historical figures to nursery rhymes shows how cultural memory prefers clever stories over sparse evidence. Some seemingly innocent children’s traditions can have deeper and more troubling histories, as illustrated by the listener mail about cakewalks and the broader context of racist origins.
Data Points: First known publication of Humpty Dumpty rhyme: 1797 - Samuel Arnold’s Juvenile Amusements Humpty Dumpty older word usage: at least 1698 - Oxford English Dictionary cites use for a drink made with ale boiled with brandy Humpty Dumpty descriptive usage: 1785 - Used to describe a short, squat, frumpy person Sing a Song of Sixpence first written appearance: 1744 - Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Songbook George IV marriage year to Maria Anne FitzHerbert: 1785 - Used in one interpretation of Georgie Porgy George IV second marriage year: 1795 - Marriage to Catherine of Brunswick after parliamentary arrangement Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush school use: 1834 - Glasgow infant schools used it to teach hygiene and grooming Mulberry Bush prison book publication: 1994 - Robert Stephen Duncan self-published a book linking the rhyme to Wakefield Prison Hickory Dickory Dock first appearance: 1744 - Appears in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Songbook with alternate spellings Exeter Cathedral clock date: probably 15th century; inner workings replaced in late 19th century - Cited as a possible inspiration for Hickory Dickory Dock Little Miss Muffet first appearance in print: 1805 - Songs for the Nursery Listener mail memory period: 1990s - Cakewalks reportedly continued into the 1990s in some elementary schools
Pivotal Quotes: "A lot of these poems and songs were first published hundreds of years ago." — Tracy B. Wilson: Opening caveat about nursery rhyme origins and why explanations are often late and speculative "as with other of the better known rhymes, numerous guesses have been hazarded that an historical character is portrayed. As usual, no evidence is vouchsafed." — The Opies (quoted by the hosts): Summarizing the lack of evidence behind many famous nursery rhyme interpretations "It all seems kind of random." — Holly Fry: Reaction to the many competing, weakly supported interpretations of Sing a Song of Sixpence
Implications: Listeners are encouraged to treat nursery rhyme origin stories skeptically and distinguish folklore from evidence. The episode also shows how childhood customs may conceal troubling histories, prompting more critical attention to familiar cultural practices.