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Eating History

Eating History is an American docuseries that airs on the History Channel and premiered in 2020.[1][2] In the series, collectors Josh Macuga and Gary "Old Smokey" Mitchell try vintage foods and related products, such as 1970s Fritos, 1913 hardtack, Pepsodent tooth powder, and New Coke.[1][2]

Cast and crew

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Hosts Gary Mitchell and Josh Macuga met through YouTube.[3][4]

Gary Mitchell became interested in vintage foods via tobacco: he collected and smoked old cigarettes and other tobacco-related products, giving him the nickname "Old Smokey".[2] This, together with his interest in his grandfather's time in the military, led to eating preserved vintage military rations.[2][5] He started trying a variety of military rations from different countries and time periods and made YouTube videos about it.[2] Through this interest, he met Ken Conley, who suggested that he might be interested in hosting Eating History when the series was being developed.[2]

Josh Macuga began collecting old food because of his family: when he was a child, his father and his uncle collected old bottles and other containers.[1] Like Mitchell, he has a YouTube channel.[3]

The production team includes a medic and a toxicologist, who do not allow the stars to eat foods that they deem unsafe, for example because of the risk of botulism.[1] The series is produced by Sharp Entertainment.[6]

Episodes

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The series has one season consisting of ten episodes.[7]

No.TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Brush with History"March 25, 2020 (2020-03-25)N/A
2"Breakfast of Champions"March 25, 2020 (2020-03-25)N/A
3"Expiration Unknown"April 1, 2020 (2020-04-01)N/A
4"Apocalypse Chow"April 1, 2020 (2020-04-01)N/A
5"Once You Pop"April 8, 2020 (2020-04-08)N/A
6"From a Galaxy Far, Far Away"April 8, 2020 (2020-04-08)N/A
7"A Space Odyssey"April 15, 2020 (2020-04-15)N/A
8"The Candy Man"April 22, 2020 (2020-04-22)N/A
9"Leave it to Beaver Tail"April 29, 2020 (2020-04-29)N/A
10"Flavor Explosion"May 6, 2020 (2020-05-06)N/A

Reception

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Some viewers have described Eating History's premise as a gimmick, but Mitchell says that the series also educates viewers: "There’s so much history behind everything we encounter."[3][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Josh Macuga dares to munch old food in Eating History". ocanada. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lynch, Bill. "WV man taking a bite out of history -- literally". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Moore, Camille (24 April 2020). "10 Things You Didn't Know about Eating History". TVOvermind. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. ^ Neale, April (25 March 2020). "Eating History Josh Macuga interview exclusive, why foods of yesteryear fascinate us all". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Old Smokey – Eating History Cast | HISTORY Channel". The HISTORY Channel. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. ^ "A+E Networks". www.aenetworks.com. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Eating History". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  8. ^ Stezano, Martin. "Chewing the Fat with Eating History's Josh and Old Smokey". The HISTORY Channel. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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