At the height of 1950s America, no woman was more synonymous with success than Brownie Wise, the single mother who turned Tupperware from a failing product into a cultural phenomenon. But when a glamorous company retreat descends into chaos during a violent storm and Brownie mysteriously disappears, her carefully crafted world begins to unravel.

But how does the face of a household name vanish almost overnight? And what really led to the downfall of the so-called Tupperware Queen?

One more episode until the end of Season One! Lucky number 16 will bring us to the close of our first season, next week. Let us know what you'd like to hear about next.

Follow us on Instagram

@MysteryForTwoPodcast

Special thanks to Sarah Schilling for the assistance with research for today's episode.

Sources:

“How Tupperware works: The history of Tupperware.” (n.d.). HowStuffWorks. https://people.howstuffworks.com/tupperware2.htm

National Women’s History Museum. (n.d.). Brownie Wise. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/brownie-wise

NPR. (2024). Planet Money: How Tupperware took over our homes (with Decoder Ring). https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1238535892

PBS. (n.d.). Brownie Wise. American Experience. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tupperware-wise/

Schmidt, S. (n.d.). #20: Tupperware’s Brownie Wise – Erasing history? Medium. https://silkeschmidt-32637.medium.com/20-tupperwares-brownie-wise-erasing-history-d7e237898ceb

Smithsonian Magazine. (n.d.). The story of Brownie Wise, the ingenious marketer behind the Tupperware party. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/story-brownie-wise-ingenious-marketer-behind-tupperware-party-180968658/

By the Victorian era, vibrant emerald pigments known as Scheele’s Green and Paris Green had taken Europe by storm, coloring everything from dresses and desserts to children’s toys and wallpaper. The problem was: both dyes contained deadly arsenic. But how long would it take for people to realize that the trendy color of the time was slowly killing them?!

Follow us on Instagram:

@MysteryForTwoPodcast

Sources:

Colwell, B. D. (n.d.). A history of arsenic. Retrieved from https://briandcolwell.com/a-history-of-arsenic/

Gosio, B. (historical overview). (n.d.). Bartolomeo Gosio (1863–1944): An appreciation. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251448954_Bartolomeo_Gosio_1863-1944_An_appreciation

Kvadrat Interwoven. (n.d.). Emerald green: The history of a toxic pigment. Retrieved from http://kvadratinterwoven.com/emerald-green

Magic Decor. (n.d.). The wallpaper tax: A look at Britain’s 18th-century luxury tax. Retrieved from https://magicdecor.in/blog/the-wallpaper-tax-a-look-at-britains-18th-century-luxury-tax/

Tax Fitness. (n.d.). 1712: Queen Anne introduces a wallpaper tax in Great Britain. Retrieved from https://taxfitness.com.au/blog/1712-queen-anne-introduces-a-wallpaper-tax-in-great-britain/

Textile Society of America. (n.d.). Toxic textiles in libraries. Retrieved from https://textilesocietyofamerica.org/12112/textile-tuesdaytoxic-textiles-in-libraries

Esquire Philippines. (n.d.). The deadly history of Paris green. Retrieved from https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/paris-green-history

Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Historical newspaper reference to Scheele’s Green. Retrieved from http://kvadratinterwoven.com/emerald-green

Today we dive into the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa (!!!) and the investigation that even dragged Pablo Picasso into police questioning. Plus, we set the stage for the modern-day 2025 Louvre robbery that eerily mirrors the past...

Follow us on Instagram:

@MysteryForTwoPodcast

A special thanks to Sarah Schilling for assisting with the research on this episode.

Sources:

NPR Staff. (2011, July 30). The theft that made the “Mona Lisa” a masterpiece. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2011/07/30/138800110/the-theft-that-made-the-mona-lisa-a-masterpiece

Andrews, E. (2016). The heist that made the Mona Lisa famous. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/the-heist-that-made-the-mona-lisa-famous

Everything we know about the Louvre jewellery heist. (2025). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7nrlkg0zxo

In just 7 brazen minutes, thieves grab ‘priceless’ jewels from Louvre. (2025, October 19). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/world/europe/louvre-paris-robbery.html

Four more arrests made following Louvre jewellery heist. (2025). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5zm7n8ngpo

Ord, S. (2026). Authorities announce progress in Louvre jewellery heist investigation. Jeweller Magazine. https://www.jewellermagazine.com/Article/14781/Authorities-announce-progress-in-Louvre-jewellery-heist-investigation

Leath, M. (2025). A history of heists at the Louvre: From the Mona Lisa to Napoleon’s jewels. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/history-heists-louvre-mona-lisa-napoleons-jewels/story?id=126680032

Mona Lisa returns to her home in an improved high-tech display case. Goppion. https://www.goppion.com/journal/mona-lisa-returns-to-her-home-in-an-improved-high-tech-display-case-by-goppion-1

Wilson, B. (n.d.). Vincenzo Peruggia: The man who stole the Mona Lisa. Medium. https://brucewilsonauthor.medium.com/vincenzo-peruggia-the-man-who-stole-the-mona-lisa-71fb61cb7128

Stolen! How the Mona Lisa became the world’s most famous painting. (n.d.). Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/stolen-how-the-mona-lisa-became-the-worlds-most-famous-painting-16406234/

A mummified “mannequin” hanging in a 1970s amusement park turned out to be something far stranger: the real body of outlaw Elmer McCurdy. What began as a strange prop on a funhouse ride unfolds into one of the most bizarre afterlife stories in American history. This is the unbelievable journey of the outlaw who kept traveling after death!

Follow us on IG:

@MysteryForTwoPodcast

Sources

• https://www.history.com/articles/elmer-mccurdy-mummy-dead-outlaw
• https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/15/archives/wax-model-identified-as-oklahoma-bandit.html
• https://williams-williams-michael.medium.com/elmer-mccurdy-outlaw-mummy-7521975d08c6
• The Valley Tribune, Wed, Dec 14, 1977 · Page 6 “Elmer the mummified desperado”
• https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2018/07/elmer-mccurdy-traveling-corpse/
• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-nitroglycerin/
• https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/2022/04/14/oklahoma-outlaw-turned-mummy-elmer-mccurdy-inspires-musical-dead-outlaw/9427777002/

This week we unravel the infamous “Wine and Cheese Heist” of 1976, masterminded by photographer slash chicken farmer Albert Spaggiari and his 20-man “sewer gang,” who spent months digging a secret tunnel, then casually looted a French bank vault over a holiday weekend, taking their time robbing the place while enjoying a wine and cheese picnic. But a couple of red chisels, stolen gold bars, a CIA tip-off, and one of the most cinematic courtroom escapes in history would ultimately crack the case.

A special thanks to Sarah Schilling for assistance with the research for this case!

SOURCES

• The Heist of the Century: Inside the Société Générale Detectives’ Case. The New York Times. December 19, 1976.
• https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/19/archives/the-heist-of-the-century-inside-the-soci-t-g-n-rale-detectives.html
• French Hero-Criminal Gets Life in Absentia. The New York Times. November 8, 1979.
• https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/08/archives/french-herocriminal-gets-life-in-absentia.html
• Albert Spaggiari, 57, Mastermind of Notorious Riviera Bank Heist. The New York Times. June 12, 1989.
• https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/12/obituaries/albert-spaggiari-57-mastermind-of-notorious-riviera-bank-heist.html
• Mastermind of Notorious Bank Theft in France Dies. Orlando Sentinel. June 12, 1989.
• https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1989/06/12/mastermind-of-notorious-bank-theft-in-france-dies/
• FRANCE: Bank Heist of the Century. Time.
• https://time.com/archive/6848187/france-bank-heist-of-the-century/
• Suspected Mastermind on Trial for France’s ‘Heist of the Century’. The Guardian. February 12, 2018.
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/12/jacques-cassandri-suspected-mastermind-societe-generale-france-heist-trial
• French Gangster Jacques Cassandri on Trial for 1976 ‘Heist of the Century’. BBC News.
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43035229
• Albert Spaggiari and the Société Générale Robbery. RivRep.
• https://rivrep.com/history-and-traditions/811-albert-spaggiari-and-the-societe-generale-robbery

In 1931 Liverpool, we witness a crime that seems physically "impossible": Julia Wallace is brutally murdered inside her locked home, with no sign of forced entry and no clear way for the killer to escape. What begins with a mysterious phone call to a chess club and a nonexistent address spirals into one of history’s most famous real-life locked room mysteries.

In part two we will discuss the investigation and trial that follows the murder, all the while asking ourselves: "Did William Herbert Wallace kill his wife?"

Today's research couldn't have been possible without my friend and talented Records Custodian, Sarah Schilling. Special thanks to her!

Follow us on instagram

@mysteryfortwopodcast

Sources:

Liverpool City Police, “The Murder of Julia Wallace,” official case summary.

Court of Criminal Appeal, R v Wallace [1931], judgment quashing conviction.

Trial testimony of William Herbert Wallace and key witnesses, Liverpool Assizes, April 1931.

Curtis, J. H., The Trial of William Herbert Wallace. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1934.

Murphy, James, The Murder of Julia Wallace. 2001.

Nickell, Joe, “The Impossible Murder of Julia Wallace,” Skeptical Inquirer 45, no. 5 (2021).

“William Herbert Wallace,” Wikipedia.

“The Julia Wallace Murder,” Historic Mysteries.

William Herbert Wallace case files, williamherbertwallace.com.

In 1931 Liverpool, we witness a crime that seems physically "impossible": Julia Wallace is brutally murdered inside her locked home, with no sign of forced entry and no clear way for the killer to escape. What begins with a mysterious phone call to a chess club and a nonexistent address spirals into one of history’s most famous real-life locked room mysteries.

In part one, we meet William Herbert Wallace and his wife Julia, and follow the strange chain of events that lead up to her murder. In part two we will discuss the investigation and trial that follows, all the while asking ourselves: "Did William kill his wife?"

Today's research couldn't have been possible without my friend and talented Records Custodian, Sarah Schilling. Special thanks to her!

Follow us on instagram

@mysteryfortwopodcast

Sources:

Liverpool City Police, “The Murder of Julia Wallace,” official case summary.

Court of Criminal Appeal, R v Wallace [1931], judgment quashing conviction.

Trial testimony of William Herbert Wallace and key witnesses, Liverpool Assizes, April 1931.

Curtis, J. H., The Trial of William Herbert Wallace. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1934.

Murphy, James, The Murder of Julia Wallace. 2001.

Nickell, Joe, “The Impossible Murder of Julia Wallace,” Skeptical Inquirer 45, no. 5 (2021).

“William Herbert Wallace,” Wikipedia.

“The Julia Wallace Murder,” Historic Mysteries.

William Herbert Wallace case files, williamherbertwallace.com.