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No Such Thing As A Fish
No Such Thing As A Fish

No Such Thing As Anti-Drone Sharks

April 23, 2026 • 57m

Summary

⏱️ 6 min read

Overview

In this episode of No Such Thing As A Fish, hosts Dan Schreiber, James Harkin, and Andrew Hunter-Murray are joined by comedian and author Cariad Lloyd. They explore fascinating facts about the invention of broadcast censorship, Samuel Pepys's scandalous diary, fiber optic cables using old theater hydraulic tubes, and the surprising muscular development of human embryos.

The Origins of Broadcast Censorship and Olga Petrova's Secret

The practice of bleeping and censoring live broadcasts began over a century ago when actress Olga Petrova read a modified nursery rhyme on Newark radio in 1921 that subtly referenced birth control. Engineers quickly drowned out her microphone with loud classical music to avoid controversy. Petrova, who claimed to be from Warsaw, was actually Muriel Harding from Hampshire and maintained an Eastern European accent throughout her entire professional career. This incident led to the development of the modern bleeping system and safety mechanisms still used in broadcasting today.

  • The first broadcast censorship incident occurred in 1921 when Olga Petrova read a nursery rhyme on Newark radio that referenced birth control by saying 'She had so many children because she didn't know what to do'
  • Olga Petrova was actually Muriel Harding from Hampshire who pretended to be from Warsaw and maintained a fake Eastern European accent her entire professional life
  • The first censorship method involved playing classical music constantly on another line, ready to drown out controversial content by pressing a button
  • Comedy writers actively tried to sneak content past censors, including Mork and Mindy getting a character named Arnold Wanker onto American TV
" I don't like children very much, you know. I really hate the nasty little brutes. But I've got to live with them when they grow up. "

Samuel Pepys: The Problematic Diarist

Samuel Pepys's famous 17th-century diary, which documented the Great Fire of London and the Great Plague, was ignored for hundreds of years due to being written in coded shorthand. When finally translated in the 1820s, it revealed extensive sexual content that was heavily censored until the full uncensored version was published in 1971. Pepys married at 22 to a 14-year-old, had numerous affairs including with naval officers' wives while they were at sea, and even kissed the centuries-dead Queen Catherine of France on her exposed corpse. Despite his problematic behavior, he remains a central figure taught in British primary schools.

  • Pepys's diary was written in a type of shorthand called tachygraphy and wasn't fully translated until undergraduate John Smith was paid 200 pounds in 1820 to decode it
  • The diary contains constant references to sexual encounters, assaults on teenage girls, and affairs with naval officers' wives, which were heavily censored in early publications
  • Pepys kissed the exposed corpse of Queen Catherine of France in Westminster Abbey in 1669, writing 'I did kiss a queen and this my birthday and I 36 year old'
  • He used euphemisms and switched to other languages when describing especially outrageous acts, writing things like 'I did make her tener mi cosa in her mano' (hold thing in hand)
  • His wife Elizabeth's only portrait was destroyed in 1830 by a Scottish nurse who thought it showed too much cleavage
" I did kiss her mouth reflecting upon it I did kiss a queen and this my birthday and I 36 year old and I did kiss a queen "

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