The Man Who Sold 'Winter' episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 26, 2026 · 13 MIN

The Man Who Sold 'Winter'

from History Shorts

In the early nineteenth century, the idea of shipping ice to the tropics sounded ridiculous. After all, who would pay for something that melted before it arrived? In this episode of History Shorts, we tell the remarkable story of Frederic Tudor, the ambitious Boston merchant who refused to believe the impossible. After early shipments ended in disaster and repeated business failures landed him in debtor's prison, Tudor reinvented his enterprise with ingenious solutions—from insulating cargo with sawdust to building icehouses in tropical ports. Then he came up with a brilliant marketing strategy: give ice away to bartenders. Once customers experienced an ice-cold drink, they never wanted a warm one again.   SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/c/HistoryShortsPodcast ADVERTISE: https://www.historyshortspodcast.com/advertise   LEARN MORE: https://www.historyshortspodcast.com/ SPONSORED BY: https://www.podcastrepublic.net/get-it-now 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 26, 2026

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The Man Who Sold 'Winter'

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