In 2001, a single piece of paper sold at a famous auction house – not a painting, not a manuscript, just a rejection letter. The person being rejected in it went on to sell over ten million records with the very songs that letter said were missing. This week: the executive, the letter, and the auction.

Sources:

• Healthy Celeb: https://healthyceleb.com/9-popular-artists-who-were-rejected-by-record-labels/
• NME: https://www.nme.com/photos/14-record-labels-who-rejected-bands-who-went-on-to-be-massive-1427448
• Gemtracks: https://www.gemtracks.com/resources/guides/view.php?title=artists-who-were-rejected&id=7024

Note: This is what the internet told me. The internet has been wrong before. So have I. Sources are above if you want to fact-check me yourself.

A journalist trying to hit a word count in 2004 threw out three made-up terms to describe something that didn't have a name yet. One of them is now used by over a billion people every month, including you, right now.

This week: the five-second word that accidentally named an entire industry, and the trademark fight that almost took it away.

Sources: - Podcast — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast - The history of the word 'Podcast' — Podnews: https://podnews.net/article/history-of-word-podcast - I Just Learned Where The Word 'Podcast' Came From — HuffPost UK: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/i-just-learned-where-the-word-podcast-came-from-and-im-in-shock_uk_6655aa88e4b0f5ad5597f851 - Exploring the History and Modern Use of the Term 'Podcast' — Podmuse: https://www.podmuse.com/post/exploring-the-history-and-modern-use-of-the-term-podcast

Note: This is what the internet told me. The internet has been wrong before. So have I. Sources are above if you want to fact-check me yourself.

Before 1911, the Mona Lisa wasn't even considered Leonardo's best work. Then a man in a museum staff smock walked out the front door with it, and the world hasn't stopped looking at it since. This week: the missing painting, the two-year hiding spot, and the unlikely suspect list that included Picasso.

Sources:

* https://www.npr.org/2011/07/30/138800110/the-theft-that-made-the-mona-lisa-a-masterpiece
* http://History.comhttps://www.history.com/articles/the-heist-that-made-the-mona-lisa-famous
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Peruggia
* https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-bites-mona-lisa-louvre-heist-2708512

As always – this is what the internet told me. The internet has been wrong before. So have I. Fact-check away.