Episode #79: 1817 Timeline Twist & The Beguiling Story of Princess Caraboo

12/15/2025: On today’s episode, Valerie’s Timeline Twist features some 1817 history (and warcake), The Cook’s Oracle cookbook including 11 ketchups and a Wow-Wow sauce, a cheat sheet for nervous dancers, a crazy strong liqueur, and the invention of the first strider bike known as the Laufmaschine (among other names). Next, Amy Jo shares the fascinating tale of a mysterious woman who walked out of the water into an English village near Bristol wearing a turban and speaking an unknown language. Locals were stumped until an unexpected translator revealed her as royalty - Supertwist! The mystery woman was able to bask in her newfound notoriety for a while - until nosy Mrs. Neale had something to say.

Cover Photo: Engraving of Princess Caraboo, By Nathan Cooper Branwhite

A portrait of William Kitchiner

Caricature of Richard Martin, William Kitchiner, Samuel Phillips Eady

“Asking to Dance,” 1817. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society.

Lager Beer Ad 1817 is a photograph by Padre Art

Centerba, typical liquor of Abruzzo (Italy)

Wooden dandy horse (around 1820), a patent-infringing copy of the first two-wheeler. Original Laufmaschine' of 1817 made to measure.

La Princesse Caraboo. By Edward Bird - Exposition Galerie des Beaux-arts de Bordeaux 2021, Public Domain.

Baker’s Javasu writing

“Imposter” newspaper clipping

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

NA

Timeline Twist Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1817

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_era

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kitchiner

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow-Wow_sauce#  

https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/04/contradancing-an-1817-tip-sheet-for-dancers.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Products_introduced_in_1817 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centerbe 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1817

Timeline Twist Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centerbe#/media/File:Centerba.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy_horse#/media/File:Draisine_or_Laufmaschine,_around_1820._Archetype_of_the_Bicycle._Pic_01.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy_horse#/media/File:Draisine1817.jpg

https://pixels.com/featured/lager-beer-ad-1817-padre-art.html?srsltid=AfmBOor9-XhKtE02K7rTel6n6gAcqEjG13y-HJ2AyfeiVU6Jwi88RUd3

https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/04/contradancing-an-1817-tip-sheet-for-dancers.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kitchiner 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kitchiner#/media/File:Caricature_of_R._Martin,_W._Kitchiner,_S._Phillips_Eady_Wellcome_L0015782.jpg

The Beguiling Story of Princess Cariboo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Caraboo

https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/the-mysterious-princess-caraboo/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almondsbury 

http://www.resologist.net/carabooa.htm

https://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/princess_caraboo 

Podcasts:

https://thebristolcable.org/2020/12/bristol-history-podcast-the-mystery-of-princess-caraboo/

https://www.yeoldecrimepodcast.com/episodes/17-princess-caraboo

https://youtu.be/Vhrde9sEOzA?si=dFbwWObnWzm9j70s

The Beguiling Story of Princess Cariboo Photo Sources:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112364457

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1466798

https://archive.org/stream/devonshirecharac00bariuoft#page/44/mode/2up/search/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11321663

https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?id=490319072&width=700&height=1933&crop=700_1357_591_1937&rotation=0&brightness=0&contrast=0&invert=0&ts=1548369181&h=94f0b4301979d1ab7244d1a994f40ecf