Futility Closet
Forgotten stories from the pages of history. Join us for surprising and curious tales from the past and challenge yourself with our lateral thinking puzzles.
Mon, November 29, 2021
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
For this final episode of the Futility Closet podcast we have eight new lateral thinking puzzles — play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Sears used to sell houses by mail. Many of Lewis Carroll's characters were suggested by fireplace tiles in his Oxford study . The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In some cases we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from Greg. Here are two links . Puzzle #2 is from listener Diccon Hyatt, who sent this link . Puzzle #3 is from listener Derek Christie, who sent this link . Puzzle #4 is from listener Reuben van Selm. Puzzle #5 is from listener Andy Brice. Puzzle #6 is from listener Anne Joroch, who sent this link . Puzzle #7 is from listener Steve Carter and his wife, Ami, inspired by an item in Jim Steinmeyer's 2006 book The Glorious Deception . Puzzle #8 is from Agnes Rogers' 1953 book How Come? A Book of Riddles , sent to us by listener Jon Jerome. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Many thanks to Doug Ross for providing the music for this whole ridiculous enterprise, and for being my brother. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, November 22, 2021
Sidney Cotton's Aerial Reconnaissance
One of the most remarkable pilots of World War II never fired a shot or dropped a bomb. With his pioneering aerial reconnaissance, Sidney Cotton made a vital contribution to Allied planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his daring adventures in the war's early months. We'll also revisit our very first story and puzzle over an unknown Olympian. Intro: Hall's Law holds that a group's social class is reflected in its members' initials . In 1814 Richard Porson wrote a sonnet to nothing . Sources for our feature on Sidney Cotton: Michael Smith, The Secret Agent's Bedside Reader: A Compendium of Spy Writing , 2019. Chaz Bowyer, Air War Over Europe: 1939-1945 , 2003. David Marshall and Bruce Harris, Wild About Flying!: Dreamers, Doers, and Daredevils , 2003. "Spies in the Sky: The Secret Battle for Aerial Intelligence During World War II," Contemporary Review 294:1705 (June 2012), 249. Taylor Downing, "Spying From the Sky," History Today 61:11 (November 2011), 10-16. "Sidney's Sky Spies," Air Classics 37:12 (December 2001), 30. Walter J. Boyne, "Reconnaissance on the Wing," Air Force Magazine 82 (1999), 72-78. "Parkes Display Plane's Remarkable Career," Parkes [N.S.W.] Champion Post , Nov. 1, 2015. Jessica Howard, "Daughter Tells of Spy Who Loved Her," [Hobart Town, Tas.] Mercury , July 27, 2013. "007 Cotton Inspires Bond," Gold Coast Bulletin , Sept. 27, 2008. "Aussie Maverick Who Fooled Nazis," [Surry Hills, N.S.W.] Daily Telegraph , Nov. 9, 2002. Christopher Bantick, "Aussie Spy in the Sky," [Hobart Town, Tas.] Mercury , Nov. 2, 2002. Stephen Holt, "Oh, What a Lovely War," [Brisbane, Qld.] Courier-Mail , Oct. 19, 2002. David Morris, "The Real Bond - Revealed: 007 Was Actually a Queenslander," [Brisbane, Qld.] Sunday Mail , July 15, 2001. David Wroe, "The Original Spy in the Sky," [Melbourne] Age , June 8, 2000. "He Fought the R.A.F. as Well as the Enemy," Sydney Morning Herald , April 12, 1969. "The Cheeky Missions of a Young Spy-Flier Helped to Save Thousands of Allied Lives," Sydney Morning Herald , Feb. 9, 1969. "May Be the Wreckage of French Airplane," Morristown [Tenn.] Gazette Mail , July 15, 1927. "Search for Lost Men Is to Be Di
Mon, November 15, 2021
The Lambeth Poisoner
In 1891, a mysterious figure appeared on the streets of London, dispensing pills to poor young women who then died in agony. Suspicion came to center on a Scottish-Canadian doctor with a dark past in North America. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the career of the Lambeth Poisoner, whose victims remain uncounted. We'll also consider a Hungarian Jules Verne and puzzle over an ambiguous sentence. Intro: How can an investor responsibly divest herself of stock in a company that she feels has acted immorally? Lightning can vitrify sand into rootlike tubes. Sources for our feature on Thomas Neill Cream: Dean Jobb, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer , 2021. Lee Mellor, Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder , 2012. Joshua A. Perper and Stephen J. Cina, When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How , 2010. John H. Trestrail III, Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys , 2007. Angus McLaren, A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream , 1995. Paula J. Reiter, "Doctors, Detectives, and the Professional Ideal: The Trial of Thomas Neill Cream and the Mastery of Sherlock Holmes," College Literature 35:3 (Summer 2008), 57-95. Ian A. Burney, "A Poisoning of No Substance: The Trials of Medico-Legal Proof in Mid-Victorian England," Journal of British Studies 38:1 (January 1999), 59-92. Penelope Johnston, "The Murderous Ways of Dr Thomas Neill Cream," Medical Post 33:38 (Nov. 11, 1997), 47. Carolyn A. Conley, "A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream by Angus McLaren," American Historical Review 99:3 (June 1994), 899-900. Philippa Levin, "Modern Britain -- A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream by Angus McLaren," Canadian Journal of History 28:3 (December 1993), 595-597. E.H. Bensley, "McGill University's Most Infamous Medical Graduate," Canadian Medical Association Journal 109:10 (1973), 1024. "A Crazy Poisoner," British Medical Journal 1:3302 (April 12, 1924), 670. Michael Dirda, "A True-Crime
Mon, October 25, 2021
The Leatherman
In 1856, a mysterious man appeared on the roads of Connecticut and New York, dressed in leather, speaking to no one, and always on the move. He became famous for his circuits through the area, which he followed with remarkable regularity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Leatherman, whose real identity remains unknown. We'll also consider the orientation of churches and puzzle over some balky ponies. Intro: Western Poland contains a grove of 400 pine trees that appear to have been deliberately bent . In 1902 Montgomery Carmichael published the life story of an imaginary man . Image: The Leatherman, photographed on June 9, 1885, by James F. Rodgers at the Bradley Chidsey House, Branford, Ct. Sources for our feature: Dan W. DeLuca, ed., The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend , 2008. Robert Marchant, Westchester: History of an Iconic Suburb , 2018. Jim Reisler, Walk of Ages: Edward Payson Weston's Extraordinary 1909 Trek Across America , 2015. Kathleen L. Murray, Berlin , 2001. Clark Wissler, The Indians of Greater New York and the Lower Hudson , 1909. Dave Zucker, "Who Was Westchester’s Mysterious and Legendary Leatherman?" Westchester Magazine , March 24, 2021. Jon Campbell, "Mystery Man: Will Anyone Ever Know the Real Story Behind the Leatherman?" Village Voice , June 16, 2015. Steven R. Cooper, "Clues to the Past," Central States Archaeological Journal 58:3 (July 2011), 162-163. "Legend in Leather," Hudson Valley Magazine , March 11, 2010. Jim Fitzgerald, "Wanderer From 1800s Gets More Peaceful NY Grave," Associated Press, May 25, 2011. Dan Brechlin, "Leather Man Body May Yield Clues," [Meriden, Ct.] Record Journal , Jan. 3, 2011. "Would Leatherman Be Welcome Today?" New Haven Register , June 6, 2011. Pam McLoughlin, "Mystery Man," New Haven Register , Feb. 13, 2011. "Walker's Unusual Legend Is Told,"
Mon, October 18, 2021
A Fight Over Nutmeg
In 1616, British officer Nathaniel Courthope was sent to a tiny island in the East Indies to contest a Dutch monopoly on nutmeg. He and his men would spend four years battling sickness, starvation, and enemy attacks to defend the island's bounty. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Courthope's stand and its surprising impact in world history. We'll also meet a Serbian hermit and puzzle over an unusual business strategy. Intro: Should orangutans be regarded as human? How fast does time fly? Sources for our feature on Nathaniel Courthope: Giles Milton, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History , 2015. John Keay, The Honourable Company , 2010. Martine van Ittersum, The Dutch and English East India Companies , 2018. Sanjeev Sanyal, The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History , 2016. Paul Schellinger and Robert M. Salkin, eds., International Dictionary of Historic Places , 2012. Daniel George Edward Hall, History of South East Asia , 1981. H.C. Foxcroft, Some Unpublished Letters of Gilbert Burnet, the Historian , in The Camden Miscellany , Volume XI, 1907. William Foster, ed., Letters Received by the East India Company From Its Servants in the East , Volume 4, 1900. Samuel Rawson Gardiner, History of England From the Accession of James I to the Outbreak of the Civil War , 1895. W. Noel Sainsbury, Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, East Indies, China and Japan, 1617-1621 , 1870. Martine Julia van Ittersum, "Debating Natural Law in the Banda Islands: A Case Study in Anglo–Dutch Imperial Competition in the East Indies, 1609–1621," History of European Ideas 42:4 (2016), 459-501. Geraldine Barnes, "Curiosity, Wonder, and William Dampier's Painted Prince," Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 6:1 (Spring-Summer 2006), 31-50. Barbara D. Krasner, "Nutmeg Takes Manhattan," Calliope 16:6 (February 2006), 28-31. Vincent C. Loth, "Armed Incidents and Unpaid Bills: Anglo-Dutch Rivalry in the Banda Islands in the Seventeenth Century," Modern Asian Studies 29:4 (October 1995), 705-740. Boies Penrose, "Some Jacobean Links Between America and the Orient (Concluded)," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 49:1 (January 1941), 51-61. Jennifer Hunter, "Better Than the David Price D
Mon, October 11, 2021
Haggard's Dream
In 1904, adventure novelist H. Rider Haggard awoke from a dream with the conviction that his daughter's dog was dying. He dismissed the impression as a nightmare, but the events that followed seemed to give it a grim significance. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Haggard's strange experience, which briefly made headlines around the world. We'll also consider Alexa's expectations and puzzle over a college's name change. Intro: Marshall Bean got himself drafted by reversing his name. An air traveler may jump into tomorrow without passing midnight. "Bob, although he belonged to my daughter, who bought him three years ago, was a great friend of mine, but I cannot say that my soul was bound up in him," Haggard wrote. "He was a very intelligent animal, and generally accompanied me in my walks about the farm, and almost invariably came to say good morning to me." Sources for our feature on Haggard's nightmare and its sequel: H. Rider Haggard, The Days of My Life , 1923. Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, "Phantasms of the Living," Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 86:33 (October 1922), 23-429. H. Rider Haggard, Delphi Complete Works of H. Rider Haggard , 2013. Peter Berresford Ellis, H. Rider Haggard: A Voice From the Infinite , 1978. C.L. Graves and E.V. Lucas, "Telepathy Day by Day," Bill Peschel, et al., The Early Punch Parodies of Sherlock Holmes , 2014. Harold Orel, "Hardy, Kipling, and Haggard," English Literature in Transition , 1880-1920 25:4 (1982), 232-248. "Spiritualism Among Animals" Public Opinion 39:18 (Oct. 28, 1905), 566. "Character Sketch: Commissioner H. Rider Haggard," Review of Reviews 32:187 (July 1905), 20-27. "Rider Haggard on Telepathy," Muswellbrook [N.S.W.] Chronicle , Oct. 8, 1904. "Case," Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 11:212 (October 1904), 278-290. "Mr. Rider Haggard's Dream," [Rockhampton, Qld.] Morning Bulletin , Sept. 24, 1904. "Has a Dog a Soul?" [Adelaide] Evening Journal , Sept. 21, 1904. "Spirit of the Dog," The World's News [Sydney], Sept. 10, 19
Mon, October 04, 2021
Stranded in Shangri-La
In 1945, a U.S. Army transport plane crashed in New Guinea, leaving three survivors marooned in the island's mountainous interior. Injured, starving, and exhausted, the group seemed beyond the hope of rescue. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the plight of the stranded survivors and the remarkable plan to save them. We'll also reflect on synthetic fingerprints and puzzle over a suspicious notebook. Intro: What's the shortest possible game of Monopoly if each player plays optimally? Omen or crated inkwell. Sources for our feature on the Gremlin Special : Mitchell Zuckoff, Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II , 2011. Randy Roughton, "Impossible Rescue," Airman , Jan. 26, 2015. John Cirafici, "Lost in Shangri-La," Air Power History 58:3 (Fall 2011), 65. Sara Hov, "Lost in Shangri-La," Army 61:8 (August 2011), 70. Harrison T. Beardsley, "Harrowing Crash in New Guinea," Aviation History 10:2 (November 1999), 46. David Grann, "Plane Crash Compounded by Cannibals," Washington Post , May 22, 2011. Mitchell Zuckoff, "Escape From the Valley of the Lost," Calgary Herald , May 8, 2011. Mitchell Zuckoff, "In 1945, a U.S. Military Plane Crashed in New Guinea," Vancouver Sun , May 7, 2011. Brian Schofield, "A Tumble in the Jungle," Sunday Times , May 1, 2011. Mitchell Zuckoff, "Return to Shangri-La," Boston Globe , April 24, 2011. "Wartime Plane Crash," Kalgoorlie [W.A.] Miner , Sept. 17, 1947. "Glider Saved Fliers, WAC in Wild Valley," [Hagerstown, Md.] Daily Mail , Aug. 14, 1945. Margaret Hastings, "Shangri-La Diary," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph , July 22, 1945. Bob Myers, "Rescued Wac Is En Route to Washington," [Binghamton, N.Y.] Press and Sun-Bulletin , July 9, 1945. "3 Crash Survivors Dramatically Rescued From New Guinea Valley by Glider Snatch Pickup," St. Louis Globe-Democrat , June 30, 1945. "New Guinea's 'Hidden Valley,'" St. Louis Globe-Democrat , June 28, 1945. "Survivors of Mishap in Shangri-La Valley Reach Their Rescuers," Birmingham [Ala.] News , June 20, 1945. "Two Airmen, Wac Await Rescue in Fantastic 'Hidden Valley,'" [Richmond, Va.] Times Dispatch
Mon, September 13, 2021
The Radium Girls
In 1917, a New Jersey company began hiring young women to paint luminous marks on the faces of watches and clocks. As time went on, they began to exhibit alarming symptoms, and a struggle ensued to establish the cause. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Radium Girls, a landmark case in labor safety. We'll also consider some resurrected yeast and puzzle over a posthumous journey. Intro: Joseph Underwood was posting phony appeals for money in 1833. The earliest known written reference to baseball appeared in England. Sources for our feature on the Radium Girls: Claudia Clark, Radium Girls : Women and Industrial Health Reform, 1910-1935 , 1997. Ross M. Mullner, Deadly Glow: The Radium Dial Worker Tragedy , 1999. Robert R. Johnson, Romancing the Atom: Nuclear Infatuation From the Radium Girls to Fukushima , 2012. Dolly Setton, "The Radium Girls: The Scary but True Story of the Poison that Made People Glow in the Dark," Natural History 129:1 (December 2020/January 2021), 47-47. Robert D. LaMarsh, "The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women," Professional Safety 64:2 (February 2019), 47. Angela N.H. Creager, "Radiation, Cancer, and Mutation in the Atomic Age," Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 45:1 (February 2015), 14-48. Robert Souhami, "Claudia Clark, Radium Girls," Medical History 42:4 (1998), 529-530. Ainissa Ramirez, "A Visit With One of the Last 'Radium Girls,'" MRS Bulletin 44:11 (2019), 903-904. "Medicine: Radium Women," Time , Aug. 11, 1930. "Poison Paintbrush," Time , June 4, 1928. "Workers From Factory May Get Federal Honors," Asbury Park Press , June 27, 2021. John Williams, "Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: Kate Moore'
Mon, September 06, 2021
Scenes From an Earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is remembered for its destructive intensity and terrible death toll. But the scale of the disaster can mask some remarkable personal stories. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the experiences of some of the survivors, which ranged from the horrific to the surreal. We'll also consider a multilingual pun and puzzle over a deadly reptile. Intro: In the 1600s, a specialized verb described the carving of each dish . The Earls of Leicester kept quiet in Parliament. An iconic image: The quake toppled a marble statue of Louis Agassiz from its perch on the second floor of Stanford's zoology building. Sources for our feature: Malcolm E. Barker, Three Fearful Days , 1998. Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, The San Francisco Earthquake: A Minute-by-Minute Account of the 1906 Disaster , 2014. Louise Chipley Slavicek, The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 , 2008. Richard Schwartz, Earthquake Exodus, 1906: Berkeley Responds to the San Francisco Refugees , 2005. Gordon Thomas, The San Francisco Earthquake , 1971. Edward F. Dolan, Disaster 1906: The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire , 1967. William Bronson, The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned , 1959. Charles Morris, The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire: As Told by Eyewitnesses , 1906. Alexander Olson, "Writing on Rubble: Dispatches from San Francisco, 1906," KNOW: A Journal on the Formation of Knowledge 3:1 (Spring 2019), 93-121. Susanne Leikam, "The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire," Journal of Transnational American Studies 7:1 (2016). Penny Allan and Martin Bryant, "The Critical Role of Open Space in Earthquake Recovery: A Case Study," EN: Proceedings of the 2010 NZSEE Conference , 2010. Brad T. Aagaard and Gregory C. Beroza, "The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake a Century Later: Introduction to the Special Section," Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 98:2 (2008), 817-822. Jeffrey L. Arnold, <a href= "https://w
Mon, August 30, 2021
A Strawberry's Journey
The modern strawberry has a surprisingly dramatic story, involving a French spy in Chile, a perilous ocean voyage, and the unlikely meeting of two botanical expatriates. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the improbable origin of one of the world's most popular fruits. We'll also discuss the answers to some of our queries and puzzle over a radioactive engineer. Intro: Williston Fish bequeathed everything. Philip Cohen invented an English contraction with seven apostrophes. Sources for our feature on Amédée-François Frézier: Amédée-François Frézier, A Voyage to the South-sea, and Along the Coasts of Chili and Peru, in the Years 1712, 1713, and 1714 , 1717. George McMillan Darrow, The Strawberry: History, Breeding, and Physiology , 1966. James F. Hancock, Strawberries , 2020. R.M. Sharma, Rakesh Yamdagni, A.K. Dubey, and Vikramaditya Pandey, Strawberries: Production, Postharvest Management and Protection , 2019. Amjad M. Husaini and Davide Neri, Strawberry: Growth, Development and Diseases , 2016. Joel S. Denker, The Carrot Purple and Other Curious Stories of the Food We Eat , 2015. Adam Leith Gollner, The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession , 2013. Mary Ellen Snodgrass, World Food: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture and Social Influence From Hunter Gatherers to the Age of Globalization , 2012. Noel Kingsbury, Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding , 2011. Christopher Stocks, Forgotten Fruits: The Stories Behind Britain's Traditional Fruit and Vegetables , 2009. Stevenson Whitcomb Fletcher, The Strawberry in North America: History, Origin, Botany, and Breeding , 1917. Dominique D.A. Pincot et al., "Social Network Analysis of the Genealogy of Strawberry: Retracing the Wild Roots of Heirloom and Modern Cultivars," G3 11:3 (2021), jkab015. Marina Gambardella, S. Sanchez, and J. Grez, <a href= "https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marina-Gambardella/publication/316708847_Morphological_analysis_of_Fragaria_chiloensis_accessions
Mon, August 23, 2021
The Auckland Islands Castaways
In 1864, two ships' crews were cast away at the same time on the same remote island in the Southern Ocean. But the two groups would undergo strikingly different experiences. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Auckland Islands castaways and reflect on its implications for the wider world. We'll also consider some fateful illnesses and puzzle over a street fighter's clothing. Intro: Lewis Carroll proposed fanciful logic problems. In 1946, a kangaroo made off with William Thompson's money. Sources for our feature on the Aucklands Islands castaways: Joan Druett, Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World , 2007. Nicholas A. Christakis, Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society , 2019. Elizabeth McMahon, Islands, Identity and the Literary Imagination , 2016. A.W. Eden, Islands of Despair , 1955. William Pember Reeves, New Zealand , 1908. F.E. Raynal, Wrecked on a Reef, or Twenty Months on the Auckland Islands , 1880. T. Musgrave, Castaway on the Auckland Isles: Narrative of the Wreck of the "Grafton," 1865. Don Rowe, "A Tale of Two Shipwrecks," New Zealand Geographic 167 (January-February 2021). "The Kindness of Strangers," Economist 431:9141 (May 4, 2019), 81. Peter Petchey, Rachael Egerton, and William Boyd, "A Spanish Man-o-War in New Zealand? The 1864 Wreck of Grafton and Its Lessons for Pre-Cook Shipwreck Claims," International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 44:2 (2015), 362-370. Bernadette Hince, "The Auckland Islands and Joan Druett's Island of the Lost," Shima: The International Journal of Research Into Island Cultures 2:1 (2008), 110. "Mystery of the Shipwreck Shelter," [Wellington, New Zealand] Sunday Star-Times , Feb. 21, 2021. Charles Montgomery, "The Audacity of Altruism: Opinion," Globe and Mail , March 28, 2020. "Was
Mon, August 16, 2021
Falling Through a Thunderstorm
In 1959, Marine pilot William Rankin parachuted from a malfunctioning jet into a violent thunderstorm. The ordeal that followed is almost unique in human experience. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Rankin's harrowing adventure, which has been called "the most prolonged and fantastic parachute descent in history." We'll also hear your thoughts on pronunciation and puzzle over mice and rice. Intro: How do mirrors "know" to reverse writing? Artist Alex Queral carves portraits from telephone books. Sources for our feature on William Rankin: William H. Rankin, The Man Who Rode the Thunder , 1960. Andras Sóbester, Stratospheric Flight: Aeronautics at the Limit , 2011. Stefan Bechtel and Tim Samaras, Tornado Hunter: Getting Inside the Most Violent Storms on Earth , 2009. Gavin Pretor-Pinney, The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds , 2007. Christopher C. Burt, Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book , 2007. Robert Jackson, Baling Out: Amazing Dramas of Military Flying , 2006. David Fisher and William Garvey, eds., Wild Blue: Stories of Survival From Air and Space , 2000. Missy Allen and Michel Peissel, Dangerous Natural Phenomena , 1993. Sally Lee, Predicting Violent Storms , 1989. James Clark, "The Incredible Story of the Marine Who Rode Lightning," Task & Purpose, June 17, 2016. Burkhard Bilger, "Falling: Our Far-Flung Correspondents," New Yorker 83:23 (Aug. 13, 2007), 58. "The Nightmare Fall," Time , Aug. 17, 1959. Paul Simons, "Weather Eye," Times , Aug. 8, 2016. Paul Simons, "US Airman Survived a Thunder Tumble," Times , April 22, 2006. Paul Simons, "Weatherwatch," Guardian , Aug. 30, 2001. Brendan McWillams, "Jumping Into the Eye of a Thunderstorm," Irish Times , June 22, 2001. Harry Kursh, "Thunderstorm!" South Bend [Ind.] Tribune , May 26, 1963. "Marine Flier Bails Out, But It Takes Him 40 Minutes to Land," Indianapolis Star , Aug. 8, 1959. "Tossed by Elements Half-Hour," [Davenport, Iowa] Quad-City Times , Aug. 8, 1959. "Bails Out 9 Miles Up ... Into a Storm," Des Moines [Iowa] Tribune , Aug. 7, 1959.
Mon, August 09, 2021
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Lili McGrath's 1915 "floor polisher" is a pair of slippers connected by a cord . Eighteenth-century English landowners commissioned custom ruins . The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In some cases we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from listener Moxie LaBouche. Puzzle #2 is from listener Cheryl Jensen, who sent this link . Puzzle #3 is from listener Theodore Warner. Here's a link. Puzzle #4 is from listener David Morgan. Puzzle #5 is from listener Bryan Ford, who sent these links . Puzzle #6 is from listener John Rusk, who sent this link . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, July 26, 2021
A Victorian Hippopotamus
In 1850, England received a distinguished guest: A baby hippopotamus arrived at the London Zoo. Obaysch was an instant celebrity, attracting throngs of visitors while confounding his inexperienced keepers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his long tenure at the zoo, more than 4,000 miles from his Egyptian home. We'll also remark on a disappearing signature and puzzle over a hazardous hand sign. Intro: In 1969 Rolling Stone invented a fake album with a real fanbase . In 1990 Terence King invented hand-holding gloves . Sources for our feature on Obaysch: John Simons, Obaysch: A Hippopotamus in Victorian London , 2019. Edgar Williams, Hippopotamus , 2017. Takashi Ito, London Zoo and the Victorians, 1828-1859 , 2014. Helen Cowie, Exhibiting Animals in Nineteenth-Century Britain: Empathy, Education, Entertainment , 2014. Hannah Velten, Beastly London: A History of Animals in the City , 2013. John Toman, Kilvert's World of Wonders: Growing up in Mid-Victorian England , 2013. Peter Loriol, Famous and Infamous Londoners , 2004. Wilfrid Blunt, The Ark in the Park, 1976. Abraham Dee Bartlett, Wild Animals in Captivity: Being an Account of the Habits, Food, Management and Treatment of the Beasts and Birds at the 'Zoo,' with Reminiscences and Anecdotes , 1898. George C. Bompas, Life of Frank Buckland , 1885. Clara L. Matéaux, Rambles Round London Town , 1884. Charles Knight, ed., The English Cyclopaedia , 1867. Zoological Society of London, The Zoological Gardens: A Description of the Gardens and Menageries of the Royal Zoological Society , 1853. David William Mitchell, A Popular Guide to the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London , 1852. Wendy Woodward, "John Simons. Obaysch: A Hippopotamus in Victorian London [review]," Animal Studies Journal 9:1 (2020), 221-223. Ronald D. Morrison, "Dickens, London Zoo, and 'Household Words,'" Nineteenth-Century Prose 46:1 (Spring 2019), 75-96.
Mon, July 19, 2021
Notes and Queries
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a novelist's ashes, some bathing fairies, the mists of Dartmoor, and a ballooning leopard. We'll also revisit the Somerton man and puzzle over an armed traveler. Intro: Amanda McKittrick Ros is widely considered the worst novelist of all time. John Cummings swallowed 30 knives. Sources for our notes and queries: The Pony Express ad is quoted in Christopher Corbett's 2004 history Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express . It appeared first in Missouri amateur historian Mabel Loving's posthumous 1961 history The Pony Express Rides On! , but she cites no source, and no one's been able to find the ad. The anecdote about John Gawsworth keeping M.P. Shiel's ashes in a biscuit tin appears in John Sutherland's 2011 book Lives of the Novelists . "The comedian and scholar of nineteenth-century decadent literature, Barry Humphries, was (unwillingly) one such diner -- 'out of mere politeness.'" Sutherland gives only this source , which says nothing about the ashes. (Thanks, Jaideep.) Henry Irving's observation about amateur actors and personal pronouns is mentioned in Robertson Davies' 1951 novel Tempest-Tost . Joseph Addison's definition of a pun appeared in the Spectator , May 10, 1711 . Theodore Hook's best pun is given in William Shepard Walsh's Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities , 1892. Richard Sugg's anecdote of the Ilkley fairies appears in this 2018 Yorkshire Post article . The proof of the Pythagorean theorem by "Miss E. A. Coolidge, a blind girl" appears in Robert Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan's 2011 boo
Mon, July 12, 2021
Symmes' Hole
In 1818, Army veteran John Cleves Symmes Jr. declared that the earth was hollow and proposed to lead an expedition to its interior. He promoted the theory in lectures and even won support on Capitol Hill. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Symmes' strange project and its surprising consequences. We'll also revisit age fraud in sports and puzzle over a curious customer. Intro: Grazing cattle align their bodies with magnetic north. The Conrad Cantzen Shoe Fund buys footwear for actors. Sources for our feature on John Cleves Symmes Jr.: David Standish, Hollow Earth: The Long and Curious History of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, Advanced Civilizations, and Marvelous Machines Below the Earth's Surface , 2007. Peter Fitting, ed., Subterranean Worlds: A Critical Anthology , 2004. Martin Gardner, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science , 1986. Paul Collins, Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck , 2015. Americus Symmes, The Symmes Theory of Concentric Spheres: Demonstrating That the Earth Is Hollow, Habitable Within, and Widely Open About the Poles , 1878. James McBride and John Cleves Symmes, Symmes's Theory of Concentric Spheres: Demonstrating That the Earth Is Hollow, Habitable Within, and Widely Open About the Poles , 1826. Adam Seaborn, Symzonia: A Voyage of Discovery , 1820. Donald Prothero, "The Hollow Earth," Skeptic 25:3 (2020), 18-23, 64. Elizabeth Hope Chang, "Hollow Earth Fiction and Environmental Form in the Late Nineteenth Century," Nineteenth-Century Contexts 38:5 (2016), 387-397. Marissa Fessenden, "John Quincy Adams Once Approved an Expedition to the Center of the Earth," smithsonianmag.com, May 7, 2015. Daniel Loxton, "Journey Inside the Fantastical Hollow Earth: Part One," Skeptic 20:1 (2015), 65-73. "Journey Inside the Fantastical Hollow Earth: Part Two," Skeptic 20:2 (2015), 65-73. Matt Simon, "Fantastically Wrong: The Real-Life Journey to the Center of the Earth That Almost Was," Wired , Oct. 29, 2014. Kirsten Møllegaard and Ro
Mon, July 05, 2021
The National Hotel Disease
In 1857 guests at Washington D.C.'s National Hotel began to come down with a mysterious illness. One of them was James Buchanan, who was preparing to assume the presidency of the United States. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the deadly outbreak and the many theories that were offered to explain it. We'll also contemplate timpani and puzzle over an Old West astronaut. Intro: The words overnervousnesses and overnumerousnesses are vertically compact . Harvard mathematician George Birkhoff reduced the principle underlying beauty to a formula . Sources for our feature on the National Hotel Disease: Kerry Walters, Outbreak in Washington, D.C.: The 1857 Mystery of the National Hotel Disease , 2014. George Alfred Townsend, Washington, Outside and Inside , 1874. Ruth D. Reichard, "A 'National Distemper': The National Hotel Sickness of 1857, Public Health and Sanitation, and the Limits of Rationality," Journal of Planning History 15:3 (August 2016), 175-190. Brian D. Crane, "Filth, Garbage, and Rubbish: Refuse Disposal, Sanitary Reform, and Nineteenth-Century Yard Deposits in Washington, D. C.," Historical Archaeology 34:1 (2000), 20-38. Homer T. Rosenberger, "Inauguration of President Buchanan a Century Ago," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 57/59 (1957/1959), 96-122. H.J. Forrest, "The National Hotel Epidemic of 1857," Medical Annals of the District of Columbia 16:3 (1947), 132-134. Isaac O. Barnes, "The National Hotel Disease — Letter to Dr. D.H. Storer," New Hampshire Journal of Medicine 7:8 (August 1857), 238-243. "The National Hotel Disease," Scientific American 12:46 (July 25, 1857), 365. "The 'Hotel Endemic' at Washington," Peninsular Journal of Medicine 5:1 (July 1857), 31-34. "National Hotel Disease," New York Journal of Medicine 3:1 (July 1857), 90-92. "Chemical Opinions of the National Hotel Disease," Scientific American 12:37 (May 23, 1857), 296. "National Hotel Disease," Scientific American 12:36 (May 16, 1857), 286. Philip Bump, "Concerns About Members of Congress Being Poisoned Date to 1857
Mon, June 28, 2021
Who Killed the Red Baron?
In 1918, German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen chased an inexperienced Canadian pilot out of a dogfight and up the Somme valley. It would be the last chase of his life. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the last moments of the Red Baron and the enduring controversy over who ended his career. We'll also consider some unwanted name changes and puzzle over an embarrassing Oscar speech. Intro: In the early 1970s, AI researcher James Meehan tried to teach a computer to retell Aesop's fables. In 1983, Jacob Henderson appealed a burglary conviction on the ground that the indictment was illiterate. Sources for our feature on the death of Manfred von Richthofen: Norman Franks and Alan Bennett, The Red Baron's Last Flight: A Mystery Investigated , 1998. Dale M. Titler, The Day the Red Baron Died , 1990. P.J. Carisella and James W. Ryan, Who Killed the Red Baron? , 1969. Dan Hampton, Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, From the Red Baron to the F-16 , 2014. Nicolas Wright, The Red Baron , 1977. Floyd Phillips Gibbons, The Red Knight of Germany: The Story of Baron von Richthofen, Germany's Great War Bird , 1959. Bob Gordon, "The Fearless Canadian Flier Who Led the Red Baron to His Death," Aviation History 31:2 (November 2020). O'Brien Browne, "Deadly Duo," Aviation History 24:1 (September 2013), 44-49. O'Brien Browne, "Shooting Down a Legend," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 23:2 (Winter 2011), 66. James S. Corum, "The Other Richthofen," World War II 23:3 (August/September 2008) 28-37. Jonathan M. Young, "Against DNIF: Examining von Richthofen's Fate," Air Power History 53:4 (Winter 2006), 20-27. A.D. Harvey, "Why Was the Red Baron's Fokker Painted Red? Decoding the Way Aeroplanes Were Painted in the First World War," War in History 8:3 (July 2001), 323-340. Henning Allmers, "Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen's Medical Record -- Was the 'Red Baron' Fit to Fly?" Lancet 354:9177 (Aug. 7, 1999), 502-504. M. Geoffrey Miller, "The Death of Manfred von Richthofen: Who Fired the Fatal Sh
Mon, June 21, 2021
The Cottingley Fairies
In 1917, two young cousins carried a camera into an English dell and returned with a photo of fairies. When Arthur Conan Doyle took up the story it became a worldwide sensation. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Cottingley Fairies, a curiosity that would remain unexplained for most of the 20th century. We'll also remember a ferocious fire and puzzle over a troublesome gnome. Intro: Poet Harry Graham found "a simple plan / Which makes the lamest lyric scan." In the 1920s, Otto Funk fiddled across the United States . Sources for our feature on the Cottingley fairies: Jason Loxton et al., "The Cottingley Fairies," Skeptic 15:3 (2010), 72B,73-81. Russell Miller, The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography , 2008. Arthur Conan Doyle, The Coming of the Fairies , 1922. Timothy R. Levine, Encyclopedia of Deception , 2014. Jerome Clark, Encyclopedia of Strange and Unexplained Physical Phenomena , 1993. Joe Cooper, "Cottingley: At Last the Truth," The Unexplained 117 (1982), 2338-2340. A. Conan Doyle, "The Cottingley Fairies: An Epilogue," Strand 65:2 (February 1923), 105. Kaori Inuma, "Fairies to Be Photographed!: Press Reactions in 'Scrapbooks' to the Cottingley Fairies," Correspondence: Hitotsubashi Journal of Arts and Literature 4 (2019), 53-84. Douglas A. Anderson, "Fairy Elements in British Literary Writings in the Decade Following the Cottingley Fairy Photographs Episode," Mythlore 32:1 (Fall/Winter 2013), 5-18. Bruce Heydt, "The Adventure of
Mon, June 14, 2021
A Desperate Winter in Antarctica
In 1898 a Belgian ship on a scientific expedition was frozen into the sea off the coast of Antarctica. During the long polar night, its 18 men would confront fear, death, illness, and despair. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe life aboard the Belgica during its long, dark southern winter. We'll also consider a devaluing signature and puzzle over some missing music. Intro: George S. Kaufman was uninterested in Eddie Fisher's dating problems. The Hatter and the March Hare impugn one another's honesty. Sources for our feature on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899: Julian Sancton, Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night , 2021. Roland Huntford, The Last Place on Earth , 1985. T.H. Baughman, Before the Heroes Came: Antarctica in the 1890s , 1994. Marilyn Landis, Antarctica: Exploring the Extreme , 2001. Frederick Albert Cook, Through the First Antarctic Night, 1898-1899: A Narrative of the Voyage of the "Belgica" Among Newly Discovered Lands and Over an Unknown Sea About the South Pole , 1900. Henryk Arçtowski, The Antarctic Voyage of the Belgica During the Years 1897, 1898, and 1899 , 1902. Patrick De Deckker, "On the Long-Ignored Scientific Achievements of the Belgica Expedition 1897-1899," Polar Research 37:1 (2018), 1474695. Alexandru Marinescu, "An Original Document About the History of the Antarctic Expedition 'Belgica,'" in Charles W. Finkl and Christopher Makowski, eds., Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Research of Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Remote Sensing , 2017. Jacek Machowski, "Contribution of H. Arçtowski and AB Dobrowolski to the Antarctic Expedition of Belgica (1897-1899)," Polish Polar Research 19:1-2 (1998), 15-30. Kjell-G. Kjær, " Belgica in the Arctic," Polar Record 41:3 (2005), 205-214. Roger H. Charlier, "Philatelic Panorama of Some Belgian Antarctic Marine Contributions, 19th-21st Centuries: From Belgica to Princess Elisabeth ," Journal of Coastal Research 26:2 (2010), 359-376. Hugo Decleir and Gaston R. Demarée, "The Belgica Antarctic Expedition, 1897-1899: A View, 120 Years Later," Okhotsk Sea and Polar Oceans
Mon, June 07, 2021
Climbing Mont Blanc
In 1838, Frenchwoman Henriette d'Angeville set out to climb Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, against the advice of nearly everyone she knew. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow d'Angeville up the mountain to fulfill what she called "a monomania of the heart." We'll also escape Australia in a box and puzzle over a fixed game. Intro: In 1986, Florida bankruptcy judge A. Jay Cristol issued an order inspired by "a little old ebony bird." Puzzling poet S.R. Ford fits 10 guests into nine rooms . Sources for our feature on Henriette d'Angeville: Rebecca A. Brown, Women on High: Pioneers of Mountaineering , 2002. David Mazel, Mountaineering Women: Stories by Early Climbers , 1994. Peter H. Hansen, The Summits of Modern Man , 2013. Nathan Haskell Dole, The Spell of Switzerland , 1913. Francis Henry Gribble, The Early Mountaineers , 1899. Charles Edward Mathews, The Annals of Mont Blanc: A Monograph , 1898. Albert Richard Smith, Mont Blanc , 1871. Delphine Moraldo, "Gender Relations in French and British Mountaineering: The Lens of Autobiographies of Female Mountaineers, From d'Angeville (1794-1871) to Destivelle (1960-)," Journal of Alpine Research 101:1 (2013). Diana L. Di Stefano, "The Summits of Modern Man: Mountaineering After the Enlightenment," Canadian Journal of History 50:1 (Spring/Summer 2015), 213-215. Gerry Kearns, Mary Kingsley, and Halford Mackinder, "The Imperial Subject: Geography and Travel in the Work of Mary Kingsley and Halford Mackinder," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 22:4 (1997), 450-472. Bénédicte Monicat, "Autobiography and Women's Travel Writings in Nineteenth-Century France: Journeys Through Self-Representation," Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography 1:1 (1994), 61-70. Walther Kirchner, "Mind, Mountain, and History," Journal of the History of Ideas 11:4 (October 1950), 412-447. J.M. Thorington, "Henriette d'Angeville au Mont-Blanc," American Alpine Journal , 1949. Sherilyne J. King, "Crags & Crinolines," Tenth Annual Hypoxia Symposium, McMaster University, October 1997. Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros, "Women in Trousers: Henriette d'Angeville, a French Pioneer?" Journal of Design, Creative Process & the Fashion Industry 9:2 (
Mon, May 24, 2021
Martin Couney's Incubator Babies
For more than 40 years in the early 20th century, Martin Couney ran a sideshow in which premature babies were displayed in incubators. With this odd practice he offered a valuable service in an era when many hospitals couldn't. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Couney's unusual enterprise, which earned both criticism and praise. We'll also marvel over an Amazonian survival and puzzle over a pleasing refusal. Intro: The inventor of the Dewey Decimal System suggested that GHEAUGHTEIGHPTOUGH might spell potato . John VI of Portugal listened to visitors through his throne. Sources for our feature on Martin Couney: Dawn Raffel, The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies , 2018. Janet Golden, Babies Made Us Modern: How Infants Brought America Into the Twentieth Century , 2018. Elizabeth A. Reedy, American Babies: Their Life and Times in the 20th Century , 2007. Mhairi G. MacDonald, Mary M. K. Seshia, and Martha D. Mullett, Avery's Neonatology: Pathophysiology & Management of the Newborn , 2005. Jeffrey P. Baker, The Machine in the Nursery: Incubator Technology and the Origins of Newborn Intensive Care , 1996. David M. Allen and Elizabeth A. Reedy, "Seven Cases: Examples of How Important Ideas Were Initially Attacked or Ridiculed by the Professions," in David M. Allen and James W. Howell, eds., Groupthink in Science: Greed, Pathological Altruism, Ideology, Competition, and Culture , 2020. Nils J. Bergman, "Birth Practices: Maternal-Neonate Separation as a Source of Toxic Stress," Birth Defects Research 111:15 (Sept. 1, 2019), 1087-1109. Betty R. Vohr, "The Importance of Parent Presence and Involvement in the Single-Family Room and Open-Bay NICU," Acta Paediatrica 108:6 (June 2019), 986-988. Claire Prentice, "The Man Who Ran a Carnival Attraction That Saved Thousands of Premature Babies Wasn’t a Doctor at All," Smithsonian , Aug. 19, 2016. "When Preemies Were a Carnival Sideshow," Modern Healthcare 45:32 (Aug. 10, 2015), 36. Judith S. Gooding et al., <a href= "https://www.nacc.org/wp-conten
Mon, May 17, 2021
Operation Cowboy
In April 1945, a group of American soldiers learned that hundreds of Lipizzaner horses were being held on a farm in western Czechoslovakia -- and set out to rescue them before the Red Army could reach them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Operation Cowboy, one of the strangest episodes of World War II. We'll also learn about an NBA brawl and puzzle over a technology's link to cancer deaths. Intro: What's wrong with these Martian census numbers? Japanese puzzle maven Nob Yoshigahara offered this perplexing model . Sources for our feature on Operation Cowboy: Mark Felton, Ghost Riders: When U.S. and German Soldiers Fought Together to Save the World's Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II , 2018. Stephan Talty, Operation Cowboy: The Secret American Mission to Save the World’s Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II , 2014. David R. Dorondo, "Enemies Unite to Rescue Equestrian Captives," Army 69:8 (August 2019), 70-71. Mark Felton, "Operation Cowboy -- How American GIs & German Soldiers Joined Forces to Save the Legendary Lipizzaner Horses in the Final Hours of WW2," Military History Now, Nov. 25, 2018. Karen Jensen, "'Something Beautiful,'" World War II 24:4 (November 2009), 52-59,5. Boris Brglez, "The 3rd Army Rescue of the Lipizzaners," United States Army Medical Department Journal , January-March 2009, 59-63. Renita Foster, "Saving the Lippizaners: American Cowboys Ride to the Rescue," Armor 107:3 (May-June 1998), 22-23. Susan Davis, "Operation Cowboy in 1945 a Group of U.S. Soldiers Liberated 375 Lipizzans From Nazi Captivity," Sports Illustrated , Oct. 16, 1995. Marea Donnelly, "Hoof Dares Wins," [Surry Hills, N.S.W.] Daily Telegraph , Sept. 8, 2018. Matt Thompson, "WWII Soldier's Heroism Finally Coming to Light in His Hometown," [Toledo] Blade , May 29, 2016. Jennifer Bunn, "2CR, Czech Republic Remembe
Mon, May 10, 2021
A Slave Sues for Freedom
In 1844 New Orleans was riveted by a dramatic trial: A slave claimed that she was really a free immigrant who had been pressed into bondage as a young girl. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Sally Miller's fight for freedom, which challenged notions of race and social hierarchy in antebellum Louisiana. We'll also try to pronounce some drug names and puzzle over some cheated tram drivers. Intro: In 1992, a Florida bankruptcy judge held a computer in contempt of court . The 1908 grave of Vermont atheist George P. Spencer is inscribed with his credo . Sources for our feature on Sally Miller: Carol Wilson, The Two Lives of Sally Miller: A Case of Mistaken Racial Identity in Antebellum New Orleans , 2007. Paul Finkelman, Free Blacks, Slaves, and Slaveowners in Civil and Criminal Courts: The Pamphlet Literature , 2007. Gwendoline Alphonso, "Public & Private Order: Law, Race, Morality, and the Antebellum Courts of Louisiana, 1830-1860," Journal of Southern Legal History 23 (2015), 117-160. Emily West, "The Two Lives of Sally Miller," Slavery & Abolition 30:1 (March 2009), 151-152. Carol Lazzaro-Weis, "The Two Lives of Sally Miller: A Case of Mistaken Racial Identity in Antebellum New Orleans," Journal of Southern History 74:4 (November 2008), 970-971. Frank Towers, "The Two Lives of Sally Miller: A Case of Mistaken Identity in Antebellum New Orleans," American Historical Review 113:1 (February 2008), 181-182. Scott Hancock, "The Two Lives of Sally Miller: A Case of Mistaken Racial Identity in Antebellum New Orleans," Journal of American History 94:3 (December 2007), 931-932. Daneen Wardrop, "Ellen Craft and the Case of Salomé Muller in Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom ," Women's Studies 33:7 (2004), 961-984. Patricia Herminghouse, "The German Secrets of New Orleans," German Studies Review 27:1 (February 2004), 1-16. Marouf Hasian Jr., "Performative Law and the Maintenance of Interracial Social Boundaries: Assuaging Antebellum Fears of 'White Slavery' and the Case of Sally Miller/Salome Müller," Text & Performance Quarterly 23:1 (January 2003), 55-86. Ariela Gross, "Beyond Black and White: Cultural Approaches to Race and Slavery," Columbia Law Review 101:3 (April 2001), 640-690. Stephan Talty, "Spooked: The White Slave Narratives," Transition 85 (2000), 48-75. Carol Wilson, "Sally Muller, the White Slave," Louisiana History: The Journal of the
Mon, May 03, 2021
An Overlooked Bacteriologist
In the 1890s, Waldemar Haffkine worked valiantly to develop vaccines against both cholera and bubonic plague. Then an unjust accusation derailed his career. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Haffkine's momentous work in India, which has been largely overlooked by history. We'll also consider some museum cats and puzzle over an endlessly energetic vehicle. Intro: The Galveston hurricane of 1915 carried 21,000-pound buoy 10 miles. Lillian Russell designed a portable dresser for touring actresses. Sources for our feature on Waldemar Haffkine: Selman A. Waksman, The Brilliant and Tragic Life of W.M.W. Haffkine, Bacteriologist , 1964. Waldemar Mordecai Wolffe Haffkine, Anti-Cholera Inoculation , 1895. Tilli Tansey, "Rats and Racism: A Tale of US Plague," Nature 568:7753 (April 25, 2019), 454-455. Yusra Husain, "Lucknow: Bubonic Plague Vaccine and a 123-Year-Old Family Tale," Times of India , July 29, 2020. Stanley B. Barns, "Waldemar Haffkine and the 1911 Chinese Pneumonic Plague Epidemic," Pulmonary Reviews 13:3 (March 2008), 9. Jake Scobey-Thal, "The Plague," Foreign Policy 210 (January/February 2015), 24-25. Marina Sorokina, "Between Faith and Reason: Waldemar Haffkine (1860-1930) in India," in Kenneth X. Robbins and Marvin Tokayer, eds., Western Jews in India: From the Fifteenth Century to the Present , 2013, 161-178. Pratik Chakrabarti, "'Living versus Dead': The Pasteurian Paradigm and Imperial Vaccine Research," Bulletin of the History of Medicine 84:3 (Fall 2010), 387-423. Barbara J. Hawgood, "Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine, CIE (1860–1930): Prophylactic Vaccination Against Cholera and B
Mon, April 26, 2021
A Vanished Physicist
In 1938, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana vanished after taking a sudden sea journey. At first it was feared that he'd ended his life, but the perplexing circumstances left the truth uncertain. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the facts of Majorana's disappearance, its meaning for physics, and a surprising modern postscript. We'll also dither over pronunciation and puzzle over why it will take three days to catch a murderer. Intro: By design, no building in Washington, D.C., is taller than the Washington Monument. The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra plays instruments made of fresh vegetables. Sources for our feature on Ettore Majorana: Erasmo Recami, The Majorana Case: Letters, Documents, Testimonies , 2019. Salvatore Esposito, Ettore Majorana: Unveiled Genius and Endless Mysteries , 2017. Salvatore Esposito, The Physics of Ettore Majorana , 2015. Salvatore Esposito et al., eds., Ettore Majorana: Notes on Theoretical Physics , 2013. Salvatore Esposito, Erasmo Recami, and Alwyn Van der Merwe, eds., Ettore Majorana: Unpublished Research Notes on Theoretical Physics , 2008. Francesco Guerra and Nadia Robotti, "Biographical Notes on Ettore Majorana," in Luisa Cifarelli, ed., Scientific Papers of Ettore Majorana , 2020. Mark Buchanan, "In Search of Majorana," Nature Physics 11:3 (March 2015), 206. Michael Brooks, "The Vanishing Particle Physicist," New Statesman 143:5233 (Oct. 24, 2014), 18-19. Francesco Guerra and Nadia Robotti, "The Disappearance and Death of Ettore Majorana," Physics in Perspective 15:2 (June 2013), 160-177. Salvatore Esposito, "The Disappearance of Ettore Majorana: An Analytic Examination," Contemporary Physics 51:3 (2010), 193-209. Ennio Arimondo, Charles W. Clark, and William C. Martin, "Colloquium: Ettore Majorana and the Birth of Autoionization," Re
Mon, April 19, 2021
The Baron of Arizona
In 1883, Missouri real estate broker James Reavis announced that he held title to a huge tract of land in the Arizona Territory. If certified, the claim would threaten the livelihoods of thousands of residents. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Baron of Arizona, one of the most audacious frauds in American history. We'll also scrutinize British statues and puzzle over some curious floor numbers. Intro: In 1891, Charles Dodgson wrote a curiously unforthcoming letter to Nellie Bowman. Reputedly the English geologist William Buckland could distinguish a region by the smell of its soil. Sources for our feature on James Reavis: Donald M. Powell, The Peralta Grant: James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona , 1960. E.H. Cookridge, The Baron of Arizona , 1967. Jay J. Wagoner, Arizona Territory, 1863-1912: A Political History , 1970. Donald M. Powell, "The Peralta Grant: A Lost Arizona Story," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 50:1 (First Quarter, 1956), 40-52. Walter Barlow Stevens, Missouri the Center State: 1821-1915 , Volume 2, 1915. Joseph Stocker, "The Baron of Arizona," American History 36:1 (April 2001), 20. J.D. Kitchens, "Forging Arizona: A History of the Peralta Land Grant and Racial Identity in the West," Choice 56:12 (August 2019), 1515. Donald M. Powell, "The Baron of Arizona by E. H. Cookridge (review)," Western American Literature 4:1 (Spring 1969), 73-74. Tim Bowman, "Forging Arizona: A History of the Peralta Land Grant and Racial Identity in the West (review)," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 123:3 (January 2020), 386-387. Ira G. Clark, "The Peralta Grant: James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona by Donald M. Powell (review)," Mississippi Valley Historical Review 47:3 (December 1960), 522-523. McIntyre Faries, "The Peralta Grant — James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona by Donald M. Powell (review)," Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly 42:3 (September 1960), 315. Donald M. Powell, "The 'Baron of Arizona' Self-Revealed: A Letter to His Lawyer in 1894," Arizona
Mon, April 05, 2021
A Point of Law
One dark night in 1804, a London excise officer mistook a bricklayer for a ghost and shot him. This raised a difficult question: Was he guilty of murder? In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the case of the Hammersmith ghost, which has been called "one of the greatest curiosities in English criminal law." We'll also worry about British spiders and puzzle over some duplicative dog names. Intro: In 1850, an English doctor claimed to have given first aid to a pike. In 1970, Air Force pilot Gary Foust ejected from his F-106 and watched it land itself. Sources for our feature on the Hammersmith ghost: W.M. Medland and Charles Weobly, A Collection of Remarkable and Interesting Criminal Trials, Actions at Law, &c. , 1804. Thomas Faulkner, The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Hammersmith , 1839. James Paterson, Curiosities of Law and Lawyers , 1899. Thomas Faulkner, An Historical and Topographical Account of Fulham: Including the Hamlet of Hammersmith , 1813. R.S. Kirby, Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum: Or, Magazine of Remarkable Characters , Volume 2, 1804. Jacob Middleton, "An Aristocratic Spectre," History Today 61:2 (February 2011), 44-45. Alfred Whitman, "A Hundred Years Ago -- 1804," Strand 28:168 (December 1904), 632-638. Augustus K. Stephenson, "Ghost Stories of 100 Years Ago," Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 208:11 (April 1904), 214-220. John Ezard, "Ghostly Murder Haunts Lawyers 200 Years On," Guardian , Jan. 2, 2004. "The Case of the Murdered Ghost," BBC News, Jan. 3, 2004. "Killing of a 'Ghost' That Haunted Courts for 180 Years," [Glasgow] Herald , Jan. 3, 2004. "Experts to Remember Spectral Shooting," Birmingham Post , Jan. 3, 2004. Arifa Akbar, "Club Hosts Gathering in Honour of Famous Ghost Case," Independent , Jan. 3, 2004. Martin Baggoley, <
Mon, March 29, 2021
Lost in a Daydream
In 1901, two English academics met a succession of strange characters during a visit to Versailles. They came to believe that they had strayed somehow into the mind of Marie Antoinette in the year before her execution. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Moberly-Jourdain affair, a historical puzzle wrapped in a dream. We'll also revisit Christmas birthdays and puzzle over a presidential term. Intro: In 1936, Evelyn Waugh asked Laura Herbert whether "you could bear the idea of marrying me." In 1832, Mrs. T.T. Boddington was struck by lightning . Charlotte Anne Moberly (left) and Eleanor Jourdain. Sources for our feature on the incident at Versailles: Charlotte Anne Elizabeth Moberly and Eleanor Frances Jourdain, An Adventure , 1913. Roger Clarke, A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof , 2012. Terry Castle, "'An Adventure' and Its Skeptics," Critical Inquiry 17:4 (Summer 1991), 741-772. Laura Schwartz, "Enchanted Modernity, Anglicanism and the Occult in Early Twentieth-Century Oxford: Annie Moberly, Eleanor Jourdain and Their 'Adventure,'" Cultural and Social History 14:3 (2017), 301-319. Keith Reader, "The Unheimliche Hameau: Nationality and Culture in The Moberly/Jourdain Affair," Australian Journal of French Studies 57:1, 93-102. Fabio Camilletti, "Present Perfect: Time and the Uncanny in American Science and Horror Fiction of the 1970s (Finney, Matheson, King)," Image & Narrative 11:3 (2010), 25-41. Rosemary Auchmuty, "Whatever Happened to Miss Bebb? Bebb v The Law Society and Women's Legal History," Legal Studies 31:2 (June 2011), 199-230. Roger J. Morgan, "Correspondence," Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 76:909 (Oct. 1, 2012), 239-240. Terry Castle, "Marie Antoinette Obsession," Representations 38 (Spring 1992), 1-38. Richard Mawrey, "Phantom of the Trianon," Historic Gardens Review 25 (July 2011), 12-17. Roger Betteridge, "How a Spooky Adventure Came Back to Haunt Reputation of Vicar's Daughter," Derby Evening Telegraph , Dec. 31, 2012. Tim Richardson, "Hunted Ground," Daily Telegraph , Dec. 22, 2012. Brian Dunning, "Unsolved Mystery of the Ghosts of Versailles," <em
Mon, March 22, 2021
A Gruesome Cure for Consumption
In the 19th century, some New England communities grew so desperate to help victims of tuberculosis that they resorted to a macabre practice: digging up dead relatives and ritually burning their organs. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the causes of this bizarre belief and review some unsettling examples. We'll also consider some fighting cyclists and puzzle over Freddie Mercury's stamp. Intro: Residents of Sydney and London could take a train to the local necropolis. In the 19th century, a dog named Tschingel climbed 30 peaks. Sources for our feature on the New England vampire panic: Michael E. Bell, Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England’s Vampires , 2014. Sarah Richardson, "When Americans Saw Vampires," American History 54:5 (December 2019), 7. Michael E. Bell, "Vampires and Death in New England, 1784 to 1892," Anthropology and Humanism 31:2 (2006), 124-140. George R. Stetson, "The Animistic Vampire in New England," American Anthropologist 9:1 (January 1896), 1-13. John Buhler, "Disease and the Undead: Digging Up the Truth About Vampires," Canadian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science 81:3 (Fall 2019), 14-16. Jennifer Daniels-Higginbotham et al., "DNA Testing Reveals the Putative Identity of JB55, a 19th Century Vampire Buried in Griswold, Connecticut," Genes 10:9 (2019), 636. G. David Keyworth, "Was the Vampire of the Eighteenth Century a Unique Type of Undead-corpse?" Folklore 117:3 (December 2006), 241-260. Patricia D. Lock, "America's Last Vampire," Calliope 22:2 (October 2011), 20. Josepha Sherman, "Spirited Defense," Archaeology 57:3 (May/June 2004), 8. Abigail Tucker, "The Great New England Vampire Panic," Smithsonian 43:6 (October 2012), 58-66. Joe Bills, "New England's Vampire History," Yankee New England , Oct. 28, 2019. "Letters to the Editor - New England Vampire Beliefs," Skeptical Inquirer 17:3 (Spring 1993), 339. Morgan Hines, "DNA Evidence: This New England 'Vampire' Was Named John Barber in Life," USA Today , Aug. 10, 2019. Michael E. Ruane, "Vamp
Mon, March 15, 2021
Transporting Obelisks
In the 19th century, France, England, and the United States each set out to bring home an Egyptian obelisk. But each obelisk weighed hundreds of tons, and the techniques of moving them had long been forgotten. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the struggles of each nation to transport these massive monoliths using the technology of the 1800s. We'll also go on an Australian quest and puzzle over a cooling fire. Intro: Science fiction writer Albert Robida proposed a president made of wood. Norway's flag incorporates those of six other nations. Sources for our feature on the Egyptian obelisks: Bob Brier, Cleopatra's Needles: The Lost Obelisks of Egypt , 2016. Martina D'Alton, The New York Obelisk, or, How Cleopatra's Needle Came to New York and What Happened When It Got Here , 1993. Charles Edward Moldenke, The New York Obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle: With a Preliminary Sketch of the History, Erection, Uses, and Signification of Obelisks , 1891. Henry Honeychurch Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks , 1885. Erasmus Wilson, Cleopatra's Needle: With Brief Notes on Egypt and Egyptian Obelisks , 1877. Bob Brier, "The Secret Life of the Paris Obelisk," Aegyptiaca: Journal of the History of Reception of Ancient Egypt 2 (2018), 75-91. Henry Petroski, "Engineering: Moving Obelisks," American Scientist 99:6 (November–December 2011), 448-452. Bob Brier, "Saga of Cleopatra's Needles," Archaeology 55:6 (November/December 2002), 48-54. P.W. Copeman, "Cleopatra's Needle: Dermatology's Weightiest Achievement," British Medical Journal 1:6106 (1978), 154-155. "Machinery for Moving Cleopatra's Needle," Scientific American 41:21 (Nov. 22, 1879), 322. "Landing of Cleopatra's Needle," Scientific American 39:4 (July 27, 1878), 55. "Cleopatra's Needle," Scientific American 36:14 (April 7, 1877), 215-216. Paul Brown, <a href= "https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/apr/08/weatherwatch-the-perilous-sea-journey-of-cleopatras-needl
Mon, March 08, 2021
Eugene Bullard
Eugene Bullard ran away from home in 1907 to seek his fortune in a more racially accepting Europe. There he led a life of staggering accomplishment, becoming by turns a prizefighter, a combat pilot, a nightclub impresario, and a spy. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell Bullard's impressive story, which won him resounding praise in his adopted France. We'll also accidentally go to Canada and puzzle over a deadly omission. Intro: The melody of Peter Cornelius' "Ein Ton" is a single repeated note. Thomas Edison proposed the word hello to begin telephone conversations. Sources for our feature on Eugene Bullard: Tom Clavin and Phil Keith, All Blood Runs Red: The Legendary Life of Eugene Bullard -- Boxer, Pilot, Soldier, Spy , 2019. Gail Buckley, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military From the Revolution to Desert Storm , 2001. Jonathan Sutherland, African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia , 2004. Alexander M. Bielakowski, Ethnic and Racial Minorities in the U.S. Military , 2013. Edmund L. Gros, "The Members of Lafayette Flying Corps," Flying 6:9 (October 1917), 776-778. James Norman Hall and Charles Bernhard Nordhoff, The Lafayette Flying Corps , 1920. John H. Wilson, "'All Blood Runs Red,'" Aviation History 17:4 (March 2007), 13-15. Brendan Manley, "France Commemorates WWI Lafayette Escadrille," Military History 33:3 (Sept. 2016), 8. Rachel Gillett, "Jazz and the Evolution of Black American Cosmopolitanism in Interwar Paris," Journal of World History 21:3 (September 2010), 471-495. Thabiti Asukile, "J.A. Rogers' 'Jazz at Home': Afro-American Jazz in Paris During the Jazz Age," The Black Scholar 40:3 (Fall 2010), 22-35. Tyler Stovall, "Strangers on the Seine: Immigration in Modern Paris," Journal of Urban History 39:4 (June 14, 2013), 807-813. Nicholas Hewitt, "Black Montmartre: American Jazz and Music Hall in Paris in the Interwar Years," Journal of Romance Studies 5:3 (Winter 2005), 25-31. Frederic J. Svoboda, "Who Was That Black Man?: A Note on Eugene Bullard and The Sun Also Rises ," Hemingway Review 17:2 (Spring 1998), 105-110. "Air Force Honors Pioneering Pilot," Military History 36:6 (March 2020), 10. Ann Fotheringham, "Eugene Bullard," [Glasgow] Evening Times , June 8,
Mon, February 22, 2021
Stranded in the Kimberley
Crossing the world in 1932, two German airmen ran out of fuel in a remote region of northwestern Australia. With no food and little water, they struggled to find their way to safety while rescuers fought to locate them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the airmen's ordeal, a dramatic story of perseverance and chance. We'll also survey some escalators and puzzle over a consequential crash. Intro: Winston Churchill had a confusing namesake in the United States . Shelley's friend Horace Smith wrote a competing version of "Ozymandias." Sources for our feature on the 1932 Kimberley rescue: Barbara Winter, Atlantis Is Missing: A Gripping True Story of Survival in the Australian Wilderness , 1979. Brian H. Hernan, Forgotten Flyer , 2007. Anthony Redmond, "Tracks and Shadows: Some Social Effects of the 1938 Frobenius Expedition to the North-West Kimberley," in Nicolas Peterson and Anna Kenny, eds., German Ethnography in Australia , 2017, 413-434. Frank Koehler, "Descriptions of New Species of the Diverse and Endemic Land Snail Amplirhagada Iredale, 1933 From Rainforest Patches Across the Kimberley, Western Australia (Pulmonata, Camaenidae)," Records of the Australian Museum 63:2 (2011), 163-202. Bridget Judd, "The Unexpected Rescue Mission That Inspired ABC Mini-Series Flight Into Hell -- And Other Survivalists," Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Jan. 16, 2021. Peter de Kruijff, "Survivalist Retraces Lost Aviators' Trek," Kimberley Echo , Jan. 29, 2018. Michael Atkinson, "Surviving the Kimberley," Australian Geographic , June 28, 2018. Erin Parke, "No Food, No Water, No Wi-Fi: Adventurer Tests Skills in One of Australia's Most Remote Places," ABC Premium News, Jan. 29, 2018. "Forgotten Territory," [Darwin, N.T.] Northern Territory News , Feb. 28, 2016. Graeme Westlake, "They Accepted Their Saviour's Fish and Ate It Raw," Canberra Times , May 15, 1982. "German Fli
Mon, February 15, 2021
Princess Caraboo
In 1817 a young woman appeared in the English village of Almondsbury, speaking a strange language and seeking food and shelter. She revealed herself to be an Eastern princess, kidnapped by pirates from an exotic island. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Princess Caraboo, who was both more and less than she seemed. We'll also discover a June Christmas and puzzle over some monster soup. Intro: In 1988, Martine Tischer proposed wrapping gifts in uncut U.S. currency . In 1948, Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe, and George Gamow seized the chance of an immortal byline . Sources for our feature on Princess Caraboo: John Matthew Gutch, Caraboo: A Narrative of a Singular Imposition , 1817. Sabine Baring-Gould, Devonshire Characters and Strange Events , 1908. Anonymous, Carraboo, Carraboo: The Singular Adventures of Mary Baker, Alias Princess of Javasu , 1817. John Timbs, English Eccentrics and Eccentricities , 1877. C.L. McCluer Stevens, Famous Crimes and Criminals , 1924. J.P. Jewett, Remarkable Women of Different Nations and Ages , 1858. The Lives and Portraits of Curious and Odd Characters , 1852. Mrs. John Farrar, Recollections of Seventy Years , 1869. Margaret Russett, "The 'Caraboo' Hoax: Romantic Woman as Mirror and Mirage," Discourse 17:2 (Winter 1994-1995), 26-47. Michael Keevak, "A World of Impostures," Eighteenth Century 53:2 (Summer 2012), 233-235. Shompa Lahiri, "Performing Identity: Colonial Migrants, Passing and Mimicry Between the Wars," Cultural Geographies 10:4 (October 2003), 408-423. "Top 10 Imposters," Time , May 26, 2009. "Local Legends: Bristol's Princess Caraboo," BBC (accessed Jan. 31, 202
Mon, February 08, 2021
The Starvation Doctor
In 1911 English sisters Claire and Dora Williamson began consulting a Seattle "fasting specialist" named Linda Burfield Hazzard. As they underwent her brutal treatments, the sisters found themselves caught in a web of manipulation and deceit. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Williamsons' ordeal and the scheme it brought to light. We'll also catch a criminal by the ear and puzzle over a prohibited pig. Intro: During World War II, the United States circulated specially printed currency in Hawaii. Reversing an artwork in a mirror alters its aesthetic effect. Sources for our feature on Linda Burfield Hazzard: Gregg Olsen, Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest , 1997. Linda Burfield Hazzard, Fasting for the Cure of Disease , 1908. Linda Burfield Hazzard, Scientific Fasting: The Ancient and Modern Key to Health , 1927. Steven Chermak and Frankie Y. Bailey, Crimes of the Centuries: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History , 2016. Teresa Nordheim, Murder & Mayhem in Seattle , 2016. Bess Lovejoy, "The Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death," smithsonianmag.com, Oct. 28, 2014. Terence Hines, "A Gripping Story of Quackery and Death," Skeptical Inquirer 21:6 (November-December 1997), 55. Dorothy Grant, "Look Back Doctor," Medical Post 40:16 (April 20, 2004), 28. "The Hazzard Murder Trial," Northwest Medicine 4:3 (March 1912), 92. "Dr. Linda Hazzard Is Given Pardon," Oregon Daily Journal , June 4, 1916. "Woman Fast Doctor Released on Parole," Oakland [Calif.] Tribune , Dec. 21, 1915. "Glad She Is Going Says Mrs. Linda Hazzard," Tacoma [Wash.] Times , Jan. 6, 1914. "Starved to Death," [Sydney] Globe Pictorial , Feb. 14, 1914. "Dr. Linda Hazzard Must Serve Term in the Penitentiary," Seattle Star , Dec. 24, 1913. "Mrs. Linda Hazzard Must Go to Prison According to Supreme Court Ruling," Tacoma [Wash.] Times , Aug. 13, 1913.<
Mon, February 01, 2021
The Abernathy Boys
In 1909, Oklahoma brothers Bud and Temple Abernathy rode alone to New Mexico and back, though they were just 9 and 5 years old. In the years that followed they would become famous for cross-country trips totaling 10,000 miles. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the journeys of the Abernathy brothers across a rapidly evolving nation. We'll also try to figure out whether we're in Belgium or the Netherlands and puzzle over an outstretched hand. Intro: Lytton Strachey's uncle William observed Calcutta time in England. John Dryden displayed a discerning discrimination in an impromptu poetry competition. Sources for our feature on Louis and Temple Abernathy: Alta Abernathy, Bud & Me: The True Adventures of the Abernathy Boys , 1998. Miles Abernathy, The Ride of the Abernathy Boys , 1911. John R. Abernathy, "Catch 'em Alive Jack": The Life and Adventures of an American Pioneer , 2006. Brian Spangle, Hidden History of Vincennes & Knox County , 2020. M.J. Alexander, "The Astounding Adventures of the Abernathy Boys," 405 Magazine , Aug. 25, 2015. "Abernathy Kids on Tour," Motorcycle Illustrated (May 29, 1930), 53. "Enterprising Boys," Advance 62:2392 (Sept. 7, 1911), 25. "Champion Company Films Abernathy Boys," Nickelodeon 4:2 (July 15, 1910), 42. Eliza McGraw, "Ultimate Free-Range Kids: Two Boys, 6 and 10, Rode Horses to New York — From Oklahoma," Washington Post , Oct. 19, 2019. John Governale, "What I've Learned/The Abernathy Boys," [Lewiston, Me.] Sun Journal , Aug. 15, 2019. Becky Orr, "Teachers Retrace Young Boys' Trek Across America," Wyoming Tribune-Eagle , Aug. 19, 2008. "Boy Rough Riders," [Parkes, N.S.W.] Western Champion , Sept. 18, 1913. "Abernathy Boys Tell Taft Their Troubles," Washington Times , Nov. 13, 1911. <p
Mon, January 25, 2021
The Cock Lane Ghost
In 1759, ghostly rappings started up in the house of a parish clerk in London. In the months that followed they would incite a scandal against one man, an accusation from beyond the grave. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Cock Lane ghost, an enduring portrait of superstition and justice. We'll also see what you can get hit with at a sporting event and puzzle over some portentous soccer fields. Intro: In 1967 British artists Terry Atkinson and Michael Baldwin offered a map that charts its own area . In 1904 Henry Hayes suggested adding fake horses to real cars to avoid frightening real horses . Sources for our feature on the Cock Lane ghost: Douglas Grant, The Cock Lane Ghost , 1965. Oliver Goldsmith, "The Mystery Revealed," in The Works of Oliver Goldsmith , Volume 4, 1854. James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. , Volume 1, 1791. Charles MacKay, Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds , 1852. Andrew Lang, Cock Lane and Common-Sense , 1894. Roger Clarke, A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof , 2012. Henry Addington Bruce, Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters , 1908. Jennifer Bann, "Ghostly Hands and Ghostly Agency: The Changing Figure of the Nineteenth-Century Specter," Victorian Studies 51:4 (Summer 2009), 663-685, 775. Gillian Bennett, "'Alas, Poor Ghost!': Case Studies in the History of Ghosts and Visitations," in Alas Poor Ghost , 1999, 139-172. Richard Whittington-Egan, "The Accusant Ghost of Cock Lane," New Law Journal 141:6487 (Jan. 18 1991), 74. Howard Pyle, "The Cock Lane Ghost," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 87:519 (August 1893), 327-338. María Losada Friend, "Ghosts or Frauds? Oliver Goldsmith and 'The Mystery Revealed,'" Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an dá chultúr 13 (1998), 159-165. H. Addington Bruce, "The Cock Lane Ghost," New York Tribune , July 14, 1
Mon, January 18, 2021
A Canine Prisoner of War
In 1944, British captives of the Japanese in Sumatra drew morale from an unlikely source: a purebred English pointer who cheered the men, challenged the guards, and served as a model of patient fortitude. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Judy, the canine POW of World War II. We'll also consider the frequency of different birthdays and puzzle over a little sun. Intro: Sherlock Holmes wrote 20 monographs. In 1863, Charles Dickens' hall clock stopped sounding . Sources for our feature on Judy: Robert Weintraub, No Better Friend: One Man, One Dog, and Their Incredible Story of Courage and Survival in World War II , 2016. S.L. Hoffman, "Judy: The Unforgettable Story of the Dog Who Went to War and Became a True Hero," Military History 32:1 (May 2015), 72-72. Rebecca Frankel, "Dogs at War: Judy, Canine Prisoner of War," National Geographic , May 18, 2014. Robert Weintraub, "The True Story of Judy, the Dog Who Inspired Her Fellow Prisoners of War to Survive," Irish Times , June 2, 2015. Jane Dalton, "Judy, the Life-Saving PoW Who Beat the Japanese," Sunday Telegraph , May 31, 2015. "Heroine Dog's Medal Goes on Display," [Cardiff] Western Mail , Aug. 26, 2006. "Medal Awarded to Dog Prisoner of War Goes on Public Display," Yorkshire Post , Aug. 23, 2006. Amber Turnau, "The Incredible Tale of Frank Williams," Burnaby [B.C.] Now , March 19, 2003. Nicholas Read, "Prison Camp Heroine Judy Was History's Only Bow-Wow PoW," Vancouver Sun , March 12, 2003. "London Salutes Animal Veterans," Charlotte Observer , May 28, 1983. Frank G. Williams, "The Dog That Went to War," Vancouver Sun , April 6, 1974. "Judy, Dog VC, Dies," [Montreal] Gazette , March 23, 1950. "Judy, British War Dog, Dies; to Get Memorial," [Wilmington, Del.] Morning News , March 21, 1950. "The Tale of a V.C. Dog," [Adelaide] Chronicle , Jan. 30, 1947. "Judy to Receiv
Mon, January 11, 2021
The Misplaced Tourist
In 1977, West German tourist Erwin Kreuz spent three days enjoying the sights, sounds, and hospitality of Bangor, Maine. Unfortunately, he thought he was in San Francisco, on the other side of the continent. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll describe Kreuz's unlikely adventure, which made him a local hero in his adopted city. We'll also consider an invisible killer and puzzle over a momentous measurement. Intro: In 1712, Sweden observed a February 30. In 1898, J.W. Dunne dreamed correctly that his watch had stopped. Sources for our feature on Erwin Kreuz: Geoffrey Wolff, The Edge of Maine , 2011. William Langewiesche, "Reporting Points," Flying Magazine 102:1 (January 1978), 29-32. Joseph Owen, "On This Date in Maine History: Oct. 20," Portland [Me.] Press Herald , Oct. 20, 2020. Emily Burnham, "The Story of How a German Tourist Ended Up Mistaking Bangor for San Francisco," Bangor Daily News , Oct. 17, 2020. Kent Ward, "A Feel-Good Story From the Archives," Bangor Daily News , Dec. 4, 2009. Sara Kehaulani Goo, "Bangor Is Used to Surprise Landings," Washington Post , Oct. 17, 2004. Joshua Weinstein, "Bangor International Familiar With Hosting Unexpected Guests," Portland [Me.] Press Herald , Sept. 23, 2004. Tom Weber, "Mall Man," Bangor Daily News , Oct. 18, 1997. John S. Day, "City of Bangor Urged to Hold Fire on I-Man," Bangor Daily News , July 26, 1997. Kim Strosnider, "An Accidental Tourist Put Bangor on Map," Portland [Me.] Press Herald , July 7, 1996. Richard Haitch, "Follow-Up on the News: California in Maine," New York Times , July 15, 1984. Ed Lion, "A Look Back at the Saga of Erwin Kreuz," United Press International, July 8, 1984. "New England News Briefs; Payments Never Late From W. Germany," Boston Globe , July 4, 1984. "
Mon, January 04, 2021
The Recluse of Herald Square
In 1931, a 93-year-old widow was discovered to be hoarding great wealth in New York's Herald Square Hotel. Her death touched off an inquiry that revealed a glittering past -- and a great secret. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the story of Ida Wood, which has been called "one of the most sensational inheritance cases in American history." We'll also revisit the Candy Bomber and puzzle over some excessive travel. Intro: Lyndon Johnson's family shared initials . In 1915, Arthur Guiterman sparred with Arthur Conan Doyle over Sherlock Holmes' antecedents. Sources for our feature on Ida Wood: Joseph A. Cox, The Recluse of Herald Square: The Mystery of Ida E. Wood , 1964. Robert H. Sitkoff and Jesse Dukeminier, Wills, Trusts, and Estates , 10th edition, 2017. Renee M. Winters, The Hoarding Impulse: Suffocation of the Soul , 2015. John V. Orth, "'The Laughing Heir': What's So Funny?", Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal 48:2 (Fall 2013), 321-326. St. Clair McKelway, "Annals of Law: The Rich Recluse of Herald Square," New Yorker , Oct. 24, 1953. Karen Abbott, "Everything Was Fake but Her Wealth," smithsonianmag.com, Jan. 23, 2013. Phil Gustafson, "Who'll Pick up the Pieces?", Nation's Business 38:3 (March 1950), 56. LJ Charleston, "The Story of the Rich New York Socialite Who Hid in a Hotel Room for 24 Years," news.com.au, July 29, 2019. Frank McNally, "Fascinating Ida," Irish Times , Oct. 17, 2019. "Hibernian Chronicle: The Mayfield Mystery Solved," Irish Echo , Feb. 17, 2011. Joseph A. Cox, "She Hid Her Wealth -- And a Strange Past," Australian Women's Weekly , July 6, 1966, 28. Peter Lyon, <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/04/archives/mrs-woods-rubbish-pile-the-recluse-of-herald-sq
Mon, December 28, 2020
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are eight new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: In 1940, the Venezuelan post office was said to deliver love letters at half price . In 1890 Mark Twain composed a holiday message for the New York World . The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from Agnes Rogers' 1953 book How Come? A Book of Riddles , sent to us by listener Jon Jerome. Puzzle #2 is from listener Cheryl Jensen, who sent this link . Puzzle #3 is from listener Neil de Carteret and his cat Nala. Puzzle #4 is from listener Ananth Viswanathan. Puzzle #5 is from Dan Lewis' Now I Know e-newsletter. Here are two links . Puzzle #6 is from Greg. Here's a link. Puzzle #7 is from Sharon. Here are two links . Puzzle #8 is from Greg. Here's a link. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to <
Mon, December 21, 2020
The Bizarre Death of Alfred Loewenstein
In 1928, Belgian financier Alfred Loewenstein fell to his death from a private plane over the English Channel. How it happened has never been explained. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll describe the bizarre incident, which has been called "one of the strangest fatalities in the history of commercial aviation." We'll also consider whether people can be eaten by pythons and puzzle over an enigmatic horseman. Intro: Philosopher Robin Le Poidevin offers a time-travel puzzle concerning an indefinite diary . In 1946, a quirk of Ohio law seemed to yield contrary outcomes . Sources for our feature on Alfred Loewenstein: William Norris, The Man Who Fell From the Sky , 1987. E. Phillips Oppenheim, Who Travels Alone: The Life and Death of Alfred Loewenstein , 1929. Judy Ferring, "Before the Skies Were Friendly," American Banker 153:169 (Aug. 30, 1988), 38. Phoebe-Lou Adams, "The Man Who Fell From the Sky," Atlantic 259:5 (May 1987), 94. Amy Friedman, "The Chasing of Ghosts," [Kingston, Ont.] Whig-Standard , May 23, 1987. James Idema, "Solving the Strange Death of the World's Third-Richest Man," Chicago Tribune , May 3, 1987. William French, "Real Life Mystery Is Finally Solved," Globe and Mail , April 25, 1987. Daryl Frazell, "A Mystery With No Solution," St. Petersburg Times , May 17, 1987. "Latest of the Strange Winged Tragedies of the Loewensteins," Detroit Evening Times , June 8, 1941. "Wealthy Airman Killed," [Melbourne] Argus , April 1, 1941. "387 Civilians Own Airplanes in State," New York Times , Aug. 17, 1928. "Result of Autopsy," Canberra Times , July 23, 1928. "Disappearance Is Still a Mystery," New Britain [Conn.] Herald , July 6, 1928. <a href= "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014519/1928-07-06/ed-
Mon, December 14, 2020
The Blind Traveler
When a mysterious illness blinded him at age 25, British naval officer James Holman took up a new pursuit: travel. For the next 40 years he roamed the world alone, describing his adventures in a series of popular books. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll describe Holman's remarkable career and his unique perspective on his experiences. We'll also remember some separating trains and puzzle over an oddly drawn battle plan. Intro: David Tennant's 2008 turn as Hamlet enlisted the skull of composer André Tchaikowsky . For J.B.S. Haldane's 60th birthday, biologist John Maynard Smith composed an ode to Struthiomimus . Sources for our feature on James Holman: Jason Roberts, A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler , 2009. James Holman, The Narrative of a Journey Through France, etc. , 1822. James Holman, Travels Through Russia, Siberia, etc. , 1825. James Holman, A Voyage Round the World , 1834. Sarah Bell, "Sensing Nature: Unravelling Metanarratives of Nature and Blindness," in Sarah Atkinson and Rachel Hunt, eds., GeoHumanities and Health , 2020. Eitan Bar-Yosef, "The 'Deaf Traveller,' the 'Blind Traveller,' and Constructions of Disability in Nineteenth-Century Travel Writing," Victorian Review 35:2 (Fall 2009), 133-154. Pieter François, "If It's 1815, This Must Be Belgium: The Origins of the Modern Travel Guide," Book History 15 (2012), 71-92. Joseph Godlewski, "Zones of Entanglement: Nigeria's Real and Imagined Compounds," Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 28:2 (Spring 2017), 21-33. Rebe Taylor, "The Polemics of Eating Fish in Tasmania: The Historical Evidence Revisited," Aboriginal History 31 (2007), 1-26. Mark Paterson, "'Looking on Darkness, Which the Blind Do See': Blindness, Empathy, and Feeling Seeing," Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal 46:3 (September 2013), 159-177. Keith Nicklin, "A Calabar Chief," Journal of Museum Ethnography 1 (March 1989), 79-84. Robert S. Fogarty, "Rank the Authors," Antioch Review 65:2 (Spring 2007), 213. Daniel Kish, "Human Echolocation: How to 'See' Like a Bat," New Scientist 202:2703 (April 11, 2009), 31-33. Robert Walch, "As He Alone 'Sees' It," America 195:17 (Nov. 27, 2006), 25-26. Anne McIlroy, "James Holman," CanWest News, Dec. 16, 1992, 1. Chris Barsanti, "The Blind Traveler," Publishers Weekly 243:18 (May 1, 2006), 46. Elizabeth Baigent, "H
Mon, December 07, 2020
Joseph Medicine Crow
Joseph Medicine Crow was raised on a Montana reservation in the warrior tradition of his Crow forefathers. But during World War II he found himself applying those lessons in very different circumstances. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll describe Joseph's exploits in the war and how they helped to shape his future. We'll also consider how to distinguish identical twins and puzzle over a physicist's beer. Intro: Two opposing bullets struck one another during the siege of Petersburg. Which full house is likeliest to win? Sources for our feature on Joseph Medicine Crow: Joseph Medicine Crow and Herman J. Viola, Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow Chief on the Reservation and Beyond , 2006. Charles A. Eastman, Living in Two Worlds: The American Indian Experience Illustrated , 2010. Rick Graetz and Susie Graetz, Crow Country: Montana's Crow Tribe of Indians , 2000. Joseph Medicine Crow, From the Heart of the Crow Country: The Crow Indians' Own Stories , 2000. Phillip Thomas Tucker, Death at the Little Bighorn: A New Look at Custer, His Tactics, and the Tragic Decisions Made at the Last Stand , 2017. Cindy Ott, "Crossing Cultural Fences: The Intersecting Material World of American Indians and Euro-Americans," Western Historical Quarterly 39:4 (Winter 2008), 491-499. James Welch, "Killing Custer: An Excerpt," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 44:4 (Autumn 1994), 16-27. "See You Later, Joe Medicine Crow," Wild West 29:2 (August 2016), 13. "War Songs of the Plains: Joseph Medicine Crow," Economist 419:8985 (April 16, 2016), 82. Nina Sanders, "Remembering Dr. Joe Medicine Crow," Smithsonian, April 6, 2016. Mardi Mileham, "Honoring a Cultural Treasure," Linfield Magazine 6:2 (Fall 2009), 6-11. "Roundup," Wild West 21:2 (August 2008), 9. Bradley Shreve, "Serving Those Who Served," Tribal College Journal 29:2 (Winter 2017) 10-11. Brenda J. Child and Karissa E. White, "'I've Done My Share': Ojibwe People and World War II," Minnesota History 61:5 (Spring 2009), 196-207. Emily Langer, "Native American Icon Was 'Warrior and Living Legend,'" Montreal Gazette , April 13, 2016, B.14. "Joe Medicin
Mon, November 30, 2020
The Calculating Boy
George Parker Bidder was born with a surprising gift: He could do complex arithmetic in his head. His feats of calculation would earn for him a university education, a distinguished career in engineering, and fame throughout 19th-century England. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll describe his remarkable ability and the stunning displays he made with it. We'll also try to dodge some foul balls and puzzle over a leaky ship. Intro: John Clem joined the Union Army at age 10. Actress Tippi Hedren kept an African lion as a house pet in the 1970s. Sources for our feature on George Bidder: E.F. Clark, George Parker Bidder: The Calculating Boy , 1983. Steven Bradley Smith, The Great Mental Calculators: The Psychology, Methods, and Lives of Calculating Prodigies, Past and Present , 1983. Frank D. Mitchell, Mathematical Prodigies , 1907. Henry Budd Howell, A Foundational Study in the Pedagogy of Arithmetic , 1914. A.W. Skempton and Mike Chrimes, A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500-1830 , 2002. George Eyre Evans, Midland Churches: A History of the Congregations on the Roll of the Midland Christian Union , 1899. David Singmaster, "George Parker Bidder: The Calculating Boy by E.F. Clark," Mathematical Gazette 71:457 (October 1987), 252-254. Antony Anderson, "Fairgrounds to Railways With Numbers," New Scientist 100:1385 (Nov. 24, 1983), 581. Frank D. Mitchell, "Mathematical Prodigies," American Journal of Psychology 18:1 (January 1907), 61-143. Richard A. Proctor, "Calculating Boys," Belgravia Magazine 38:152 (June 1879), 450-470. Martin Gardner, "Mathematical Games," Scientific American 216:4 (April 1967), 116-123. "A Short Account of George Bidder, the Celebrated Mental Calculator: With a Variety of the Most Difficult Questions, Proposed to Him at the Principal Towns in the Kingdom, and His Surprising Rapid Answers, Etc.," pamphlet, 1821. Louis McCreery, "Mathematical Prodigies," Mathematics News Letter 7:7/8 (April-May 1933), 4-12. "Memoirs of Deceased Members," Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 57 (1878-1879), Part III, 294. <a href= "https:/
Mon, November 23, 2020
John Hornby and the Barren Lands
John Hornby left a privileged background in England to roam the vast subarctic tundra of northern Canada. There he became known as "the hermit of the north," famous for staying alive in a land with very few resources. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll spend a winter with Hornby, who's been called "one of the most colorful adventurers in modern history." We'll also consider an anthropologist's reputation and puzzle over an unreachable safe. Intro: In 1902, Ambrose Bierce proposed that we learn to sever our social ties . Can it make sense to pray for a change in the past? Sources for our feature on John Hornby: Malcolm Waldron, Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands , 1931. Pierre Berton, Prisoners of the North , 2011. David F. Pelly, Thelon: A River Sanctuary , 1996. Morten Asfeldt and Bob Henderson, eds., Pike's Portage: Stories of a Distinguished Place , 2010. Misao Dean, Inheriting a Canoe Paddle: The Canoe in Discourses of English-Canadian Nationalism , 2013. Michael D. Pitt, Beyond the End of the Road: A Winter of Contentment North of the Arctic Circle , 2009. Mckay Jenkins, Bloody Falls of the Coppermine: Madness and Murder in the Arctic Barren Lands , 2007. Clive Powell-Williams, Cold Burial: A True Story of Endurance and Disaster , 2003. Brook Sutton, "Long Before McCandless, John Hornby Tested Himself in Northern Canada -- and Failed," Adventure Journal, Oct. 27, 2016. C.B. Sikstrom, "Hjalmar Nelson Hamar (1894–1967)," Arctic 67:3 (2014), 407-409. Alex M. Hall, "Pike's Portage: Stories of a Distinguised Place, Edited by Morten Asfeldt and Bob Henderson," Arctic 63:3 (2010), 364-365. David F. Pelly, "Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands," Arctic 53:1 (March 2000), 81-82. Hugh Stewart, "Arctic Profiles: John Hornby," Arctic 37:2 (June 1984), 184-185. M.T. Kelly, "Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands," Books in Canada 27:7 (October 1998), 29. Thomas H. Hill, "John Hornby: Legend or Fool," Torch Magazine 89:2 (Winter 2016), 6-9. Martin Zeilig, "Tourin
Mon, November 16, 2020
Friedrich Kellner's Opposition
In the 1930s, German civil servant Friedrich Kellner was outraged by the increasing brutality of the Nazi party and the complicity of his fellow citizens. He began to keep a secret diary to record the crimes of the Third Reich and his condemnations of his countrymen. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the story of Friedrich's diary and his outspoken warnings to future generations. We'll also ponder the problem with tardigrades and puzzle over a seemingly foolish choice. Intro: In 1983, Kenneth Gardner patented a way to cremate corpses using solar energy . How can Anna Karenina's fate move us when we know she’s not a real person? Sources for our feature on Friedrich Kellner: Robert Scott Kellner, ed., My Opposition: The Diary of Friedrich Kellner -- A German Against the Third Reich , 2018. Hermann Beck, "My Opposition: The Diary of Friedrich Kellner -- A German Against the Third Reich," Holocaust and Genocide Studies 33:2 (Fall 2019), 271-273. Peter Fritzsche, "Vernebelt, verdunkelt sind alle Hirne." Tagebücher 1939-1 , Central European History 45:4 (December 2012), 780-782. David Clay Large, "My Opposition: The Diary of Friedrich Kellner; A German Against the Third Reich," Journal of Modern History 91:2 (June 2019), 480-481. Robert Scott Kellner, "Nebraskan, Other U.S. Soldiers Brought Justice to WWII German Town," Omaha World-Herald , May 8, 2020. Robert Scott Kellner, "Commentary: He Documented Nazi Crimes, Secretly, for the Future to Know," Chicago Tribune , April 18, 2020. Robert Scott Kellner, "'The American Army Makes an Impression,'" Wall Street Journal , March 27, 2020. Robert Scott Kellner, "Waiting for D-Day in Germany," Los Angeles Times , June 6, 2019, A.11. Robert Scott Kellner, "The Curse of an Evil Deed," [Washington, D.C.] Examiner , May 8, 2019. Matt Lebovic, "New Memoir Compilation by Hitler's Personal Staff Airs Historical Dirty Laundry," Times of Israel , Oct. 13, 2018. Jane Warren, "Exposed: Myth That Civilians Knew Nothing of Nazi Atrocities," Daily Express , March 10, 2018, 31. Laurence Rees, "Meet Friedrich Kellner: The Unlikely Face of Nazi Resistance," Telegraph , Jan. 22, 2018. Richard J. Evans, "My Opposition: The Diary of Friedrich Kellner Review – A German Against th
Mon, November 02, 2020
Peace Pilgrim
In 1953 Mildred Norman renounced "an empty life of money and things" and dedicated herself to promoting peace. She spent the next three decades walking through the United States to spread a message of simplicity and harmony. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe her unusual life as a peace pilgrim. We'll also admire Wellington's Mittens and puzzle over a barren Christmas. Intro: In 1956, Navy pilot Tom Attridge overtook his own rounds in a supersonic jet . Flemish artist Cornelius Gijsbrechts painted a rendering of the back of a painting . Sources for our feature on Peace Pilgrim: Peace Pilgrim, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words , 1992. Peace Pilgrim, Steps Toward Inner Peace , 1964. Kathlyn Gay, American Dissidents: An Encyclopedia of Activists, Subversives, and Prisoners of Conscience , 2012. Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking , 2001. Peace Pilgrim's website. Michael M. Piechowski, "Giftedness for All Seasons: Inner Peace in a Time of War," Henry B. and Jocelyn Wallace National Research Symposium on Talent Development, University of Iowa, 1991. Michael M. Piechowski, "Is Inner Transformation a Creative Process?" , Creativity Research Journal 6:1-2 (1993), 89-98. Michael M. Piechowski, "Peace Pilgrim, Exemplar of Level V," Roeper Review 31:2 (2009), 103-112. Amanda Kautz, "Peace Pilgrim: An American Parallel to a Buddhist Path," Buddhist-Christian Studies 10 (1990), 165-172. Roy Tamashiro, "Planetary Consciousness, Witnessing the Inhuman, and Transformative Learning: Insights From Peace Pilgrimage Oral Histories and Autoethnographies," Religions 9:5 (2018), 148. "Introducing Peace Pilgrim," Equality 15 (May 1969), 3. "Peace Pilgrim's Progress," Equality 1 (May 1965), 3. Ann Rush with John Rush, "Peace Pilgrim: An Extraordinary Life," 1992. Peace Pilgrim, "On Foot and on Faith," The Sun Magazine , February
Mon, October 26, 2020
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Stonewall Jackson recorded 14 precepts for good conversation . Ben Franklin offered four "rules for making oneself a disagreeable companion." Sources for this episode's puzzles: Puzzle #1 is from listener Allen Houser. Puzzle #2 is from listener Michael Cavanagh. Puzzle #3 is from listener Jessica Aves. Puzzle #4 is from listener Laura Merz. Puzzle #5 is from listener ospalh. Puzzle #6 is from Agnes Rogers' 1953 book How Come? A Book of Riddles , sent in by listener Jon Jerome. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, October 19, 2020
A Malaysian Mystery
In 1967, Jim Thompson left his silk business in Thailand for a Malaysian holiday with three friends. On the last day, he disappeared from the cottage in which they were staying. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the many theories behind Thompson's disappearance, which has never been explained. We'll also borrow John Barrymore's corpse and puzzle over a teddy bear's significance. Intro: A 1969 contributor to NPL News suggested that orchestras were wasting effort. Robert Wood cleaned a 40-foot spectrograph by sending his cat through it. Sources for our feature on Jim Thompson: William Warren, Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery , 2014. Joshua Kurlantzick, The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War , 2011. Matthew Phillips, Thailand in the Cold War , 2015. Taveepong Limapornvanich and William Warren, Thailand Sketchbook: Portrait of a Kingdom , 2003. Jeffery Sng, "The Ideal Man: The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War by Joshua Kurlantzick," Journal of the Siam Society 102 (2014), 296-299. Tim McKeough, "Jim Thompson," Architectural Digest 71:4 (April 2014). Alessandro Pezzati, "Jim Thompson, the Thai Silk King," Expedition Magazine 53:1 (Spring 2011), 4-6. Daisy Alioto, "The Architect Who Changed the Thai Silk Industry and Then Disappeared," Time , May 9, 2016. Anis Ramli, "Jim Thompson Found, 40 Years On," Malaysian Business , May 1, 2009, 58. "Thailand: Jim Thompson's Legacy Lives On," Asia News Monitor , Feb. 8, 2010. Peter A. Jackson, "An American Death in Bangkok: The Murder of Darrell Berrigan and the Hybrid Origins of Gay Identity in 1960s Thailand," GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 5:3 (1999), 361-411. Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa, "Documentary Claims CPM Responsible for Jim Thompson's Disappearance in Cameron Highland," Malaysian National News Agency, Dec. 10, 2017. Barry Broman, "Jim Thompson Was Killed by Malay Communists, Sources Say," The Nation [Bangkok], Dec. 4, 2017. Grant Peck, "New Film Sheds Light on Jim Thompson Mystery," Associated Press, Oct. 21, 2017. "A 50-Year Mystery: The Curious Case of Silk Tycoon Jim Thompson," dpa International, March
Mon, October 12, 2020
Beryl Markham's Unconventional Life
Beryl Markham managed to fit three extraordinary careers into one lifetime: She was a champion racehorse trainer, a pioneering bush pilot, and a best-selling author. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review her eventful life, including her historic solo flight across the Atlantic in 1936. We'll also portray some Canadian snakes and puzzle over a deadly car. Intro: In 1974, Stewart Coffin devised a topological puzzle without a solution . In August 1972, Applied Optics determined that Heaven is hotter than Hell . Sources for our feature on Beryl Markham: Mary S. Lovell, Straight on Till Morning: The Life of Beryl Markham , 2011. Beryl Markham, West With the Night , 1942. Derek O'Connor, "The Remarkable Mrs. Markham," Aviation History 28:2 (November 2017), 54-59. Paula McLain, "An Insanely Glamorous Love Triangle," Town & Country , Sept. 2, 2015. Nate Pederson, "West With the Night," Aviation History 20:1 (September 2009), 62-62. Diana Ketcham, "Bad Girl," Nation 245:17 (Nov. 21, 1987), 600-602. Beryl Markham, "The Splendid Outcast," Saturday Evening Post 217:10 (Sept. 2, 1944), 12. "Aviator Beryl Markham Went With the Wind," [Durban] Sunday Tribune , June 4, 2017, 13. Erin Pottie, "Piece of History?", [Halifax, N.S.] Chronicle-Herald , Aug. 25, 2015, A1. "Beryl Markham: An Obituary," Times , Aug. 5, 1999, 25. Jane O'Reilly, "Never Down to Earth," New York Times , Oct. 3, 1993. Christopher Reed, "Inside Story: Beryl's Crash Landing," Guardian , Sept. 29, 1993. Frances Padorr Brent, "Beryl Markham: Truly Adventurous But Perhaps Less Than Honest," Chicago Tribune , Sept. 12, 1993, 6. Sylvia O'Brien, "For Whom Beryl Toiled," International Herald Tribune , Sept. 9, 1993. "Ghost Story," New York Times , Aug. 29, 1993. Robert Savage, "Rediscovering Beryl Markham," New York Times , Oct. 4, 1987, A.50. Nancy Lemann, "Stories Under a Shadow," St. Petersburg Times ,
Mon, October 05, 2020
The Taliesin Murders
By 1914 Frank Lloyd Wright had become one of America's most influential architects. But that August a violent tragedy unfolded at his Midwestern residence and studio. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the shocking attack of Julian Carlton, which has been called "the most horrific single act of mass murder in Wisconsin history." We'll also admire some helpful dogs and puzzle over some freezing heat. Intro: In 1992 by Celess Antoine patented an umbrella for dogs . Ignaz Moscheles' piano piece "The Way of the World" reads the same upside down . Sources for our feature on the Taliesin killings: William R. Drennan, Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders , 2007. Ron McCrea, Building Taliesin: Frank Lloyd Wright's Home of Love and Loss , 2013. Paul Hendrickson, Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright , 2019. Meryle Secrest, Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography , 1998. Anthony Alofsin, "Loving Frank; Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 69:3 (September 2010), 450-451. Christopher Benfey, "Burning Down the House," Harper's Magazine 339:2035 (December 2019), 88-94. Naomi Uechi, "Evolving Transcendentalism: Thoreauvian Simplicity in Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and Contemporary Ecological Architecture," Concord Saunterer 17 (2009), 73-98. Jonathan Morrison, "Frank Lloyd Wright: The Giant Talent With Shaky Foundations," Times , Jan. 4, 2020, 16. Michael Prodger, "Plagued By Fire by Paul Hendrickson -- Frank Lloyd Wright, a Life of Disaster and Disarray," Guardian , Nov. 22, 2019, 14. Philip Kennicott, "He Burned Frank Lloyd Wright's House and Killed His Mistress -- But Why?", Washington Post , Nov. 22, 2019. "Monumental Achievements: Frank Lloyd Wright, an American Great Whose Life Was as Colourful as His Buildings Were Breathtaking," Sunday Times , Oct. 20, 2019, 32. John Glassie, "What Kept Wright From Running Dry?", Washington Post , Oct. 6, 2019, E.12. Ron Hogan, "The Tragic Story of Guggenheim Architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Secret Love Nest," New York Post , Oct. 5, 2019. Leanne Shapton and Niklas Maak, <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/04/t-magazine/monica-vitti-eileen-gray-le-corbusier-frank-
Mon, September 28, 2020
The Santa Claus Association
In 1913, New York publicist John Duval Gluck founded an association to answer Santa's mail. For 15 years its volunteers fulfilled children's Christmas wishes, until Gluck's motivation began to shift. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the rise and fall of "Santa's Secretary" in New York City. We'll also survey some splitting trains and puzzle over a difference between twins. Intro: Edward Lear once had to prove his own existence. Paul Dirac proposed that a math problem could be solved with -2 fish. Sources for our feature on John Duval Gluck and the Santa Claus Association: Alex Palmer, The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York , 2015. Harry Pelle Hartkemeier, John Duvall Gluck, and Emma Croft Germond, "Social Science and Belief," Social Science 9:2 (April 1934), 202-208. Eve M. Kahn, "'Mama Says That Santa Claus Does Not Come to Poor People,'" New York Times , Nov. 26, 2015. Alex Palmer, "Meet the Con Artist Who Popularized Writing to Santa Claus," New York Post , Sept. 20, 2015. Kathleen Read, "What Becomes of Santa Claus Letters?" , [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star , Dec. 21, 1930, 3. "'Santa Claus' Gluck Ignores His Critics," New York Times , Dec. 11, 1928. "Submits Accounting on Santa Claus Fund," New York Times , Jan. 11, 1928. "Santa Claus Group Again Balks Inquiry," New York Times , Dec. 31, 1927. "Santa Claus, Inc., Now Offers Books," New York Times , Dec. 25, 1927. <a href= "https://www.nytimes.
Mon, September 21, 2020
The Last of the Yahi
In 1911 an exhausted man emerged from the wilderness north of Oroville, California. He was discovered to be the last of the Yahi, a people who had once flourished in the area but had been decimated by white settlers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Ishi's sad history and his new life in San Francisco. We'll also consider the surprising dangers of baseball and puzzle over a forceful blackout. Intro: Director Chuck Jones laid out nine rules to govern Road Runner cartoons . James Cook's third expedition to the Pacific discovered a surprising amusement in Hawaii . Sources for our feature on Ishi: Theodora Kroeber, Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America , 1961. Robert F. Heizer and Theodora Kroeber, Ishi the Last Yahi: A Documentary History , 1981. Orin Starn, Ishi's Brain: In Search of Americas Last 'Wild' Indian , 2005. Karl Kroeber and Clifton B. Kroeber, Ishi in Three Centuries , 2003. Saxton T. Pope, Hunting With the Bow & Arrow , 1923. Saxton T. Pope, The Medical History of Ishi , Volume 13, 1920. Nels C. Nelson, Flint Working by Ishi , 1916. Ronald H. Bayor, The Columbia Documentary History of Race and Ethnicity in America , 2004. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, "Ishi's Brain, Ishi's Ashes," Anthropology Today 17:1 (Feb. 1, 2001), 12. Alexandra K. Kenny, Thomas Killion, and Nancy Scheper-Hughes, "'Ishi's Brain, Ishi's Ashes': The Complex Issues of Repatriation: A Response to N. Scheper-Hughes," Anthropology Today 18:2 (April 2002), 25-27. Kathleen L. Hull, "Ishi, Kroeber, and Modernity," Current Anthropology 51:6 (December 2010), 887-888. Isaiah Wilner, "Wild Men: Ishi and Kroeber in the Wilderness of Modern America," Ethnohistory 58:1 (Winter 2011), 158-159. Dennis Torres, "Ishi," Central States Archaeological Journal 31:4 (October 1984), 175-179. Richard Pascal, "Naturalizing 'Ishi': Narrative Appropriations of America's 'Last Wild Indian,'" Australasian Journal of American Studies 16:2 (December 1997), 29-44. Saxton T. Pope, "Hunting With Ishi -- The Last Yana Indian," Journal of California Anthropology 1:2 (1974), 152-173. M. Steven Shackley, <a
Mon, September 14, 2020
A Disputed Russian Princess
In 1920, a young woman was pulled from a canal in Berlin. When her identity couldn't be established, speculation started that she was a Russian princess who had escaped the execution of the imperial family. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the strange life of Anna Anderson and her disputed identity as Grand Duchess Anastasia. We'll also revisit French roosters and puzzle over not using headlights. Intro: In 1899, English engineer E.W. Barton-Wright introduced his own martial art. One early American locomotive was driven by a horse walking on a belt. Photo: The Russian royal family at Livadiya, Crimea, 1913, five years before the execution. Left to right: Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. Sources for our feature on Anna Anderson: Greg King and Penny Wilson, The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery , 2010. John Klier and Helen Mingay, The Quest for Anastasia: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Romanovs , 1999. James B. Lovell, Anastasia: The Lost Princess , 1995. Frances Welch, A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson , 2007. Toby Saul, "Death of a Dynasty: How the Romanovs Met Their End," National Geographic , July 20, 2018. Alan Cooperman, "An Anastasia Verdict," U.S. News & World Report 117:11 (Sept. 19, 1994), 20. "What Really Happened to Russia's Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov," Haaretz , Dec. 27, 2018. Nancy Bilyeau, "Will the Real Anastasia Romanov Please Stand Up?" , Town & Country , April 25, 2017. "Is This Princess Alive?" , Life 38:7 (Feb. 14, 1955), 31-35. Martin Sieff, "Romanov Mystery Finally Solved," UPI, May 1, 2008. "Amateurs Unravel Russia's Last Royal Mystery," New York Times , Nov. 24, 2007. Lena Williams, "Chronicle," New York Times , Oct. 6, 1994, D.24. "Topics of The Times; Anastasia Lives," New York Times , Sept. 11, 1994. John Darnton, <a href=
Mon, September 07, 2020
The Case of Bobby Dunbar
In 1912, 4-year-old Bobby Dunbar went missing during a family fishing trip in Louisiana. Eight months later, a boy matching his description appeared in Mississippi. But was it Bobby Dunbar? In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the dispute over the boy's identity. We'll also contemplate a scholarship for idlers and puzzle over an ignorant army. Intro: During his solo circumnavigation of 1895-98, Joshua Slocum met the pilot of the Pinta . In 1868, inventor William Carr made a mousetrap for burglars . Sources for our feature on Bobby Dunbar: Tal McThenia and Margaret Dunbar Cutright, A Case for Solomon: Bobby Dunbar and the Kidnapping That Haunted a Nation , 2013. Cathy Pickens, True Crime Stories of Eastern North Carolina , Sept. 28, 2020. "Questions Remain in Bobby Dunbar Case," [Opelousas, La.] Daily World , Aug. 22, 2018, A.3. "The Mystery Continues: One Century Later, Bobby Dunbar Kidnapping Case Remains Unsolved," [Opelousas, La.] Daily World , July 20, 2018, A.2. Duncan McMonagle, "'World Famous' Kidnapping Saga Starts Well, Ends Badly," Winnipeg Free Press , Aug. 18, 2012, J.7. Steve Weinberg, "Famed Crime's Shock Recalled," Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Aug. 5, 2012, E.6. William Johnson, "Dunbar Case to Receive National Spotlight," [Opelousas, La.] Daily World , Dec. 26, 2007. "Man Convicted of Kidnapping 90 Years Ago Cleared," [Cranbrook, B.C.] Daily Townsman , May 5, 2004, 18. "DNA Clears Up 1914 Case," Washington Times , May 5, 2004. William Johnson, "Dunbar Rumors at Last Answered," [Opelousas, La.] Daily World , May 4, 2004. Robert Marchant, "Unraveling," [White Plains, N.Y.] Journal News , Feb. 21, 2004, A.1. Allen G. Breed, "Finding Bobby Dunbar," Associated Press, Feb. 1, 2004. "Real Dunbar Boy in New Orleans, Says a Letter," Hattiesburg [Miss.] News , June 18, 1914, 2. "Dunbars Will Not Go to New Orleans," [Opelousas, La.] St. Landry Clarion 23:30 (May 10, 1913). <a href= "https://chroniclingam
Mon, August 31, 2020
The 'Grain of Salt' Episode
Sometimes in our research we come across stories that are regarded as true but that we can't fully verify. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll share two such stories from the 1920s, about a pair of New York fruit dealers and a mythologized bank robber, and discuss the strength of the evidence behind them. We'll also salute a retiring cat and puzzle over a heartless spouse. Intro: English essayist A.C. Benson dreamed poems. Robert Patch patented a toy truck at age 5. Sources for our feature on the Fortunato brothers and Herman Lamm: Walter Mittelstaedt, Herman 'Baron' Lamm, the Father of Modern Bank Robbery , 2012. L.R. Kirchner, Robbing Banks: An American History 1831-1999 , 2003. William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix, Public Enemies: America's Criminal Past , 1919-1940, 1998. John Toland, The Dillinger Days , 1963. Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI , 1933-34, 2009. John Belle and Maxinne Rhea Leighton, Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives , 2000. Brian Robb, A Brief History of Gangsters , 2014. Carl Sifakis, Encyclopedia of American Crime , 2014. Richard Ringer, "Today's Bank Robber Is No Baby Face Nelson; Current Group Called Amateurs in Comparison to Legendary Predecessors," American Banker 148 (Feb. 28, 1983), 2. George W. Hunt, "Of Many Things," America 159:17 (Dec. 3, 1988), 450. Alan Hynd, "Grand Central's $100,000 Deal," in Rouben Mamoulian, ed., Scoundrels & Scalawags: 51 Stories of the Most Fascinating Characters of Hoax and Fraud , 1968. "Historical Perspective: Clinton and Rockville Robberies," [Terre Haute, Ind.] Tribune-Star , Sept. 15, 2019. Philip Marchand, "Grand Theft With Autos: For Bandits and Desperadoes, a Fast Getaway Car Is Just as Important as a Gun," Toronto Star , July 7, 2012, W.1. Scott McCabe, "Father of Modern Bank Robbery Killed in Shootout," [Washington, D.C.] Examiner , Dec. 16, 2011, 8. Christopher Goodwin, "America's Own Robin Hood: John Dillinger Was a Suave, Smooth-Talking Gangster Who Was Cheered On by the Public," Sunday Times , June 28, 2009, 7. Stephen Wilks, "In Pursuit of America's Public Enemies," Canberra Times , Jan. 17, 2009, 17. "Nutty Scam Fooled Fruit Bros.", [Campbell River,
Mon, August 24, 2020
Nicholas Winton and the Czech Kindertransport
In 1939, as the shadow of war spread over Europe, British stockbroker Nicholas Winton helped to spirit hundreds of threatened children out of Czechoslovakia. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Winton's struggle to save the children and the world's eventual recognition of his achievements. We'll also consider some ghostly marriages and puzzle over a ship's speed. Intro: There's a "technical version" of "A Visit From St. Nicholas." Critic A.E. Wilson translated Hamlet's nunnery soliloquy into "Americanese." Sources for our feature on Nicholas Winton: Barbara Winton, If It's Not Impossible--: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton , 2014. William Chadwick, The Rescue of the Prague Refugees 1938-39 , 2010. Andrea Hammel and Bea Lewkowicz, The Kindertransport to Britain 1938/39: New Perspectives , 2012. Rod Gragg, My Brother's Keeper: Christians Who Risked All to Protect Jewish Targets of the Nazi Holocaust , 2016. Ivan A. Backer, My Train to Freedom: A Jewish Boy's Journey From Nazi Europe to a Life of Activism , 2016. Laura E. Brade and Rose Holmes, "Troublesome Sainthood: Nicholas Winton and the Contested History of Child Rescue in Prague, 1938-1940," History & Memory 29:1 (Spring/Summer 2017), 3-40. Anna Hájková, "Marie Schmolka and the Group Effort," History Today 68:12 (December 2018), 36-49. Sona Patel, "Winton's Children Share Their Stories," New York Times , July 13, 2015. "A Job Well Done; Nicholas Winton," Economist 416:8946 (July 11, 2015), 82. "Train Tribute to Holocaust 'Hero' Sir Nicholas Winton," BBC News, July 9, 2015. Alasdair Steven, "Sir Nicholas Winton," Scotsman , July 7, 2015, 34. Sarah Sedghi, "Sir Nicholas Winton, the Man Who Saved 669 Children From the Holocaust," Australian Broadcasting Corporation, July 2, 2015. "Sir Nicholas Winton," Scotsman , July 2, 2015, 42. Raymond Johnston, "Sir Nicholas Winton to Be Honored in US," Prague Post , Sept. 25, 2013. Robert D. McFadden, "Nicholas Winton, Rescuer of 669 Children From Holocaust, Dies at 106," New York Times , July 1, 2015. <a h
Mon, August 10, 2020
The Cyprus Mutiny
In 1829 a group of convicts commandeered a brig in Tasmania and set off across the Pacific, hoping to elude their pursuers and win their freedom. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the mutineers of the Cyprus and a striking new perspective on their adventure. We'll also consider a Flemish dog and puzzle over a multiplied Oscar. Intro: Mark Twain slipped an esophagus into a 1902 short story. Designer Alan Fletcher's West London studio is secured with an alphabet . Sources for our feature on William Swallow: Warwick Hirst, The Man Who Stole the Cyprus: A True Story of Escape , 2008. John Mulvaney, The Axe Had Never Sounded: Place, People and Heritage of Recherche Bay, Tasmania , 2007. Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore , 1987. David Chapman and Carol Hayes, eds., Japan in Australia: Culture, Context and Connection , 2019. Andrew Steinmetz, Japan and Her People , 1859. D.C.S. Sissons, "The Voyage of the Cyprus Mutineers: Did They Ever Enter Japanese Waters?", Journal of Pacific History 43:2 (September 2008), 253-265. Ian Duffield, "Cutting Out and Taking Liberties: Australia's Convict Pirates, 1790–1829," International Review of Social History 58:21 (December 2013), 197–227. E.R. Pretyman, "Pirates at Recherche Bay or the Loss of the Brig 'Cyprus'," Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 88 (1954), 119-128. Mark Gregory, "Convict Era Broadsides and Ballads and the Working Poor: Part 1," Australian Folklore 32 (November 2017), 195-215. Tim Stone, "How a Samurai Manuscript Vindicated the Wild Claims of Convict Escapee William Swallow," ABC Radio National, Sept. 9, 2019. Troy Lennon, "Convicts Chased Freedom From Tasmania to China," [Surry Hills, N.S.W.] Daily Telegraph , Aug. 14, 2019, 35. Rachel Mealey, "The Brig Cyprus: How an English Surfer Solved the Mystery of an Australian Pirate Ship in Japan," ABC News, June 24, 2017. Joshua Robertson, "Australian Convict Pirates in Japan: Evidence of
Mon, August 03, 2020
The Inventor Who Disappeared
In 1890, French inventor Louis Le Prince vanished just as he was preparing to debut his early motion pictures. He was never seen again. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the possible causes of Le Prince's disappearance and his place in the history of cinema. We'll also reflect on a murderous lawyer and puzzle over the vagaries of snake milking. Intro: In 1826, schoolteacher George Pocock proposed a carriage drawn by kites . George Sicherman discovered an alternate pair of six-sided dice that produce the same probability distribution as ordinary dice. Sources for our feature on Louis Le Prince: Christopher Rawlence, The Missing Reel: The Untold Story of the Lost Inventor of Moving Pictures , 1990. Thomas Deane Tucker, The Peripatetic Frame , 2020. Adam Hart-Davis, ed., Engineers: From the Great Pyramids to the Pioneers of Space Travel , 2012. Jenni Davis, Lost Bodies , 2017. Charles Musser, "When Did Cinema Become Cinema?: Technology, History, and the Moving Pictures," in Santiago Hidalgo, ed., Technology and Film Scholarship: Experience, Study, Theory , 2018. Richard Howells, "Louis Le Prince: The Body of Evidence," Screen 47:2 (Summer 2006), 179–200. John Gianvito, "Remembrance of Films Lost," Film Quarterly 53:2 (1999), 39-42. Irfan Shah, "Man With a Movie Camera," History Today 69:1 (January 2019) 18-20. Violeta María Martínez Alcañiz, "The Birth of Motion Pictures: Piracy, Patent Disputes and Other Anecdotes in the Race for Inventing Cinema," III Congreso Internacional Historia, Arte y Literatura en el Cine en Español y Portugués, 2015. Atreyee Gupta, "The Disappearance of Louis Le Prince," Materials Today 11:7-8 (July-August 2008), 56. Justin McKinney, "From Ephemera to Art: The Birth of Film Pre
Mon, July 27, 2020
Cast Away in the New World
Marooned in Florida in 1528, four Spanish colonists made an extraordinary journey across the unexplored continent. Their experiences changed their conception of the New World and its people. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the remarkable odyssey of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his reformed perspective on the Spanish conquest. We'll also copy the Mona Lisa and puzzle over a deficient pinball machine. Intro: The Russian navy built two circular warships in 1871. When shaken, a certain chemical solution will change from yellow to red to green . Sources for our feature on Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Andrés Reséndez, A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca , 2009. Robin Varnum, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: American Trailblazer , 2014. Donald E. Chipman, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: The 'Great Pedestrian' of North and South America , 2014. Alex D. Krieger, We Came Naked and Barefoot: The Journey of Cabeza de Vaca Across North America , 2010. Peter Stern, "Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Conquistador and Sojourner," in Ian Kenneth Steele and Nancy Lee Rhoden, eds., The Human Tradition in Colonial America , 1999. Rolena Adorno, "The Negotiation of Fear in Cabeza de Vaca's Naufragios ," in Stephen Greenblatt, ed., New World Encounters , 1993. Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, The Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and His Companions From Florida to the Pacific, 1528-1536 , 1542. Andrés Reséndez, "A Desperate Trek Across America," American Heritage 58:5 (Fall 2008), 19-21. Nancy P. Hickerson, "How Cabeza De Vaca Lived With, Worked Among, and Finally Left the Indians of Texas," Journal of Anthropological Research 54:2 (Summer 1998), 199-218. Donald E. Chipman, "In Search of Cabeza de Vaca's Route Across Texas: An Historiographical Survey," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 91:2 (October 1987), 127-148. Paul E. Hoffman, "A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca, the Extraordinary Tale of a Shipwrecked Spaniard Who Walked Across America in the Sixteenth Century," Journal of American History 95:2 (September 2008), 496-497. R.T.C. Goodwin, "Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and the Textual Travels of an American Miracle," Journal of Iberian & Latin American Studies 14:1 (April 2008), 1-12. John L. Kessell, "A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca," American Historical Revie
Mon, July 20, 2020
The Dog Who Joined the Navy
The only dog ever enlisted in the Royal Navy was a Great Dane who befriended the sailors of Cape Town in the 1930s. Given the rank of able seaman, he boosted the morale of British sailors around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Just Nuisance and his adventures among the sailors who loved him. We'll also examine early concentration camps and puzzle over a weighty fashion. Intro: For most of World War I a statue of Mary hung over Albert, France . J.B.S. Haldane learned to detect methane by reciting Julius Caesar . Sources for our feature on Just Nuisance: Terence Sisson, Just Nuisance, AB: His Full Story , 1985. Leslie M. Steyn, Just Nuisance: Life Story of an Able Seaman Who Leads a Dog's Life , 1945. Malcolm Archibald, Sixpence for the Wind: A Knot of Nautical Folklore , 1998. Douglas Reed, Somewhere South of Suez , 1950. Lance Van Sittert and Sandra Scott Swart, Canis Africanis: A Dog History of Southern Africa , 2008. W.M. Bisset, "New Light on South Africa's Naval Heritage," Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies 7:4 (1977), 38-44. H.H. Curson, "Service Pets," Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 27:1 (1956), 31-50. Lance Van Sittert and Sandra Swart, "Canis familiaris: A Dog History of South Africa," South African Historical Journal 48:1 (2003), 138-173. Leslie Witz, "The Making of an Animal Biography: Huberta's Journey Into South African Natural History, 1928-1932," Kronos (2004), 138-166. "Navy Dog Just Nuisance to Get New Cap, Collar," Cape Times , Sept. 19, 2019, 2. "Have Fun With the Kids on Just Nuisance Day," Cape Times , March 8, 2018, 6. Ellen Castelow, "Able Seaman Just Nuisance," Historic UK (accessed July 5, 2020). Jon Earle, "'A Dog, But a Sailor at Heart': The Story of Just Nuisance, the Only Dog Ever Enlisted in the Royal Navy," Royal Museums Greenwich, Nov. 4, 2019. <img src= "https://www.futilitycloset.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-07-20-podcast-episode-304-the-dog-who-joined-the-navy-2.jpeg" alt="" width="447" heig
Mon, July 13, 2020
Camp Stark
In 1943, the U.S. established a camp for German prisoners of war near the village of Stark in northern New Hampshire. After a rocky start, the relations between the prisoners and guards underwent a surprising change. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Camp Stark and the transforming power of human decency. We'll also check out some Canadian snakes and puzzle over some curious signs. Intro: Why does Dracula go to England? The rattleback is a top that seems to prefer spinning in a certain direction. Sources for our feature on Camp Stark: Allen V. Koop, Stark Decency: German Prisoners of War in a New England Village , 2000. Antonio Thompson, Men in German Uniform: POWs in America During World War II , 2010. Michael Greenberg, Tables Turned on Them: Jews Guarding Nazi POWS Held in the United States , 2019. Felice Belman and Mike Pride, The New Hampshire Century: Concord Monitor Profiles of One Hundred People Who Shaped It , 2001. Andrew Streeb, "Measuring Ideas: The Political Segregation of German Prisoners of War in America, 1943-1946," Historical Studies Journal 26 (Spring 2009), 15-29. Jake W. Spidle Jr., "Axis Prisoners of War in the United States, 1942-1946: A Bibliographical Essay," Military Affairs 39:2 (April 1975), 61-66. Earl O. Strimple, "A History of Prison Inmate-Animal Interaction Programs," American Behavioral Scientist 47:1 (2003), 70-78. "Roadside History: Camp Stark, NH's WWII German POW Camp, Housed About 250 Soldiers," New Hampshire Union Leader , Sept. 25, 2016. Robert Blechl, "A Stark Remembrance of German POWs Storming North Country Woods in WWII," Caledonian Record , May 16, 2015. Kayti Burt, "Stark Remembers Former POW Camp," Salmon Press, March 31, 2010. "Camp Stark Is Remembered," Berlin [N.H.] Daily Sun , March 29, 2010. Roya
Mon, July 06, 2020
The Galápagos Affair
In 1929 a German couple fled civilization to live on an uninhabited island in the Eastern Pacific. But other settlers soon followed, leading to strife, suspicion, and possibly murder. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Galápagos affair, a bizarre mystery that remains unsolved. We'll also meet another deadly doctor and puzzle over a posthumous marriage. Intro: Damon Knight invented a way to compose stories without having to write them. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, why do we regard some tastes as bad? Photo: Captain Allan G. Hancock, Dore Strauch, and Friedrich Ritter at Floreana . Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7231, Waldo L. Schmitt Papers, Box 90, Folder 4, Image No. SIA2011-1149. Sources for our feature on Floreana: Dore Strauch, Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor's Account of the "Galápagos Affair," 1936. Margret Wittmer, Floreana: A Woman's Pilgrimage to the Galápagos , 1989. John E. Treherne, The Galápagos Affair , 2011. Elizabeth Hennessy, On the Backs of Tortoises: Darwin, the Galapagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden , 2019. Alexander Mann, Yachting on the Pacific: Together With Notes on Travel in Peru, and an Account of the Peoples and Products of Ecuador , 1909. K. Thalia Grant and Gregory B. Estes, "Alf Wollebæk and the Galápagos Archipelago's First Biological Station," Galápagos Research 68 (2016), 33-42. Hans-Rudolf Bork and Andreas Mieth, "Catastrophe on an Enchanted Island: Floreana, Galapagos, Ecuador," Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation 19:1 (2005), 5. David Cameron Duffy, "Galapagos Literature -- Fact and Fantasy," Noticias de Galápagos 44 (1986), 18-20. Gavin Haines, "Cannibalism, Nude Germans and a Murder Mystery: The Secret History of the Galapagos," Telegraph , Feb. 12, 2018. Oliver Smith, "Cannibalism, Murder and Chronic Obesity: 10 Island Paradises With Dark and Deadly Secrets," Telegraph.co.uk, Aug. 9, 2017. Allison Amend, "In the Footsteps of Charles Darwin," New York Ti
Mon, June 29, 2020
Tschiffely's Ride
In 1925, Swiss schoolteacher Aimé Tschiffely set out to prove the resilience of Argentina's criollo horses by riding two of them from Buenos Aires to New York City. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Tschiffely's unprecedented journey, which has been called "the most exciting and influential equestrian travel tale of all time." We'll also read an inscrutable cookbook and puzzle over a misbehaving coworker. Intro: English was Joseph Conrad's third language, but it held a peculiar mystique for him . Thanks to a mathematical oddity, one measurement suffices to establish the area of a carousel deck . Sources for our feature on Aimé Tschiffely: A.F. Tschiffely, Tschiffely's Ride: Ten Thousand Miles in the Saddle From Southern Cross to Pole Star , 1933. Lawrence Scanlan, Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse , 2012. Sam Leith, "The Incredible Journey," Spectator 324:9694 (June 14, 2014), 36-37. "Long Ride," Time 21:16 (April 17, 1933), 51. Bacil F. Kirtley, "Unknown Hominids and New World Legends," Western Folklore 23:2 (April 1964), 77-90. Aimé Tschiffely - Long Rider. "Tschiffely's 10,000-Mile, Three-Year Ride," Horse Canada, Jan. 2, 2014. Filipe Masetti Leite, "Journey to the End of the World," Toronto Star (Online), Dec. 19, 2016. Paul Theroux, "Run for Your Life," New York Times , March 5, 1989. "A.F. Tschiffely, Made Noted Trip," New York Times , Jan. 6, 1954. "Noted Horse Dies in Argentina at 37," [Washington D.C.] Evening Star , Dec. 26, 1947, A-11. "Famous 'Trek' Horse Embalmed," New York Times , Dec. 25, 1947. <a href= "https://www.nytimes
Mon, June 22, 2020
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: In the 1850s, a $5 bill featuring Santa Claus was legal tender in the United States. In 1910 DuPont suggested that "some farmers have a wrong idea about dynamite." The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from listener Cody Scace. Puzzle #2 is from listener Jay Graham. Puzzle #3 is from Greg. Here are two links . Puzzle #4 is from listener Paul Rippey. Puzzle #5 is from listener Hanno Zulla, who sent these links . Puzzle #6 is from Greg. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, June 15, 2020
Ursula Graham Bower and the Nagas
In 1937, Englishwoman Ursula Graham Bower became fascinated by the Naga people of northeastern India. She was living among them when World War II broke out and Japan threatened to invade their land. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Bower's efforts to organize the Nagas against an unprecedented foe. We'll also consider a self-censoring font and puzzle over some perplexing spacecraft. Intro: In 1822 the Yorkshire Observer published the schedule of a bachelor's life . In 1988 philosopher Edward J. Gracely offered a dilemma regarding a flight from hell . Sources for our feature on Ursula Graham Bower: Vicky Thomas, Naga Queen: Ursula Graham Bower and Her Jungle Warriors 1939-45 , 2011. Ursula Graham Bower, Naga Path , 1950. Christopher Alan Bayly and Timothy Norman Harper, Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941-1945 , 2005. Nicholas van der Bijl, Sharing the Secret: The History of the Intelligence Corps 1940–2010 , 2013. Montgomery McFate, Military Anthropology: Soldiers, Scholars and Subjects at the Margins of Empire , 2018. Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes and Heather Norris Nicholson, British Women Amateur Filmmakers , 2018. Alex Lubin, Romance and Rights: The Politics of Interracial Intimacy , 1945-1954, 2009. Margaret MacMillan, History's People: Personalities and the Past , 2015. Andrew Jackson Waskey, "Bower, Ursula Graham," in Bernard A. Cook, ed., Women and War: A Historical Encyclopedia From Antiquity to the Present , 2006. Paul Cheeseright, "Queen Without a Throne: Ursula Graham Bower and the Burma Campaign," Asian Affairs 45:2 (June 2014), 289-299. Ajailiu Niumai, "Rani Gaidinliu: The Iconic Woman of Northeast India," Indian Journal of Gender Studies 25:3 (August 2018), 351-367. Stuart Blackburn, "Colonial Contact in the 'Hidden Land': Oral History Among the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh," Indian Economic & Social History Review 40:3 (October 2003), 335-365. Charles Allen, "Spirit of Roedean," Spectator , April 14, 2012. dipanita nath, "Woman Who Came in From the Wild," Indian Express , Aug. 12, 2017. Esha Roy, "My Mother, The Naga Warrior," Indian Express , Oct. 27, 2013. Ved Mohendra, "A Bloody Battle to Remember," [Kuala Lumpur] New Straits Times , June 28, 2014, 16. "Rays of a New Dawn in Nagaland," Assam Tribune</e
Mon, June 01, 2020
The Theft of the Mona Lisa
In 1911, the Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre. After an extensive investigation it made a surprising reappearance that inspired headlines around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the painting's abduction, which has been called the greatest art theft of the 20th century. We'll also shake Seattle and puzzle over a fortunate lack of work. Intro: A hard-boiled egg will stand when spun. What's the largest sofa one can squeeze around a corner? Sources for our feature on Vincenzo Peruggia and the theft of the Mona Lisa: Noah Charney, The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: On Stealing the World's Most Famous Painting , 2011. Martin Kemp and Giuseppe Pallanti, Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting , 2017. Andrea Wallace, A History of Intellectual Property in 50 Objects , 2019. Monica R. DiFonzo, "'Think You Can Steal Our Caravaggio and Get Away With It? Think Again,' An Analysis of the Italian Cultural Property Model," George Washington International Law Review 44:3 (2012), 539-571. Niels Christian Pausch and Christoph Kuhnt, "Analysis of Facial Characteristics of Female Beauty and Age of Mona Lisa Using a Pictorial Composition," Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research (2017), 1-7. Donald Capps, "Leonardo's Mona Lisa: Iconic Center of Male Melancholic Religion," Pastoral Psychology 53:2 (2004), 107-137. Joseph A. Harris, "Seeking Mona Lisa," Smithsonian 30:2 (May 1999), 54-65. Simon Kuper, "Who Stole the Mona Lisa?" , Slate, Aug. 7, 2011. Terence McArdle, "How the 1911 Theft of the Mona Lisa Made It the World's Most Famous Painting," Washington Post (online), Oct. 20, 2019. Jeff Nilsson, "100 Years Ago: The Mastermind Behind the Mona Lisa Heist," Saturday Evening Post , Dec. 7, 2013. Sheena McKenzie, "Mona Lisa: The Theft That Created a Legend," CNN, Nov. 19, 2013. "Unravelling the Mona Lisa Mystery," Irish Independent , Aug. 5, 2017, 20. John Timpane, "'Mona Lisa' Theft a Century Ago Created Modern Museums," McClatchy-Tribune Business News, Sept. 7, 2011. "Noah Charney: Art Theft, From the 'Mona Lisa' t
Mon, May 25, 2020
A Sinto Boxer in Nazi Germany
In the 1930s, Sinto boxer Johann Trollmann was reaching the peak of his career when the Nazis declared his ethnic inferiority. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Trollmann's stand against an intolerant ideology and the price he paid for his fame. We'll also consider a British concentration camp and puzzle over some mysterious towers. Intro: In 1872 Edward Lear offered a recipe for "Gosky Patties." In 1927, engineer Edward R. Armstrong proposed a string of floating airports to link Europe and America. Sources for our feature on Johann Trollmann: Jud Nirenberg, Johann Trollmann and Romani Resistance to the Nazis , 2016. Andrea Pitzer, One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps , 2017. Susan Tebbutt, "Piecing Together the Jigsaw: The History of the Sinti and Roma in Germany," in Susan Tebbutt, ed., Sinti and Roma: Gypsies in German-Speaking Society and Literature , 1998. Theodoros Alexandridis, "Let's See Action," Roma Rights Quarterly 4 (2007), 95-97. Linde Apel, "Stumbling Blocks in Germany," Rethinking History 18:2 (June 2014), 181-194. Sybil Milton, "Sinti and Roma in Twentieth-Century Austria and Germany," German Studies Review 23:2 (May 2000), 317-331. Paweł Wolski, "Excessive Masculinity: Boxer Narratives in Holocaust Literature," Teksty Drugie 2 (2017), 209-229. Michaela Grobbel, "Crossing Borders of Different Kinds: Roma Theater in Vienna," Journal of Austrian Studies 48:1 (Spring 2015), 1-26. Rainer Schulze, "Johann 'Rukeli' Trollmann," Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (accessed May 10, 2020). Christina Newland, "Gypsy in the Ring: The Brave Life of Johann 'Rukeli' Trollmann," Fightland, Vice, July 25, 2016. Rainer Schulze, "Punching Above Its Weight," Times Higher Education 2232 (Dec. 3, 2015). Carol Sanders, "Boxers Have Long History of Fighting for Human Rights," Winnipeg Free Press , May 25, 2015, A.10. A.J. Goldmann, "Memorials: Remembering the Resistance," Wall Street Journal , Aug. 26, 2014, D.5. Alexandra Hudson, "Germany Finally Commemorates Roma Victims of Holocaust," Reuters, Oct. 23, 2012. Von Siobhán Dowling, <a hre
Mon, May 18, 2020
The Little Giants
In 1957, 14 boys from Monterrey, Mexico, walked into Texas to take part in a game of Little League baseball. What followed surprised and inspired two nations. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Monterrey Industrials and their unlikely path into baseball history. We'll also have dinner for one in Germany and puzzle over a deadly stick. Intro: In a poetry contest, Mark Twain offered an entry of undeniable value . Lewis Carroll composed a bewildering puzzle about a pig . Sources for our feature on the Monterrey Industrials: W. William Winokur, The Perfect Game , 2008. Robin Van Auken, The Little League Baseball World Series , 2002. Lance Van Auken, Play Ball!: The Story of Little League Baseball , 2001. Jorge Iber, "Mexico: Baseball's Humble Beginnings to Budding Competitor," in George Gmelch and Daniel A. Nathan, eds., Baseball Beyond Our Borders: An International Pastime , 2017, 75–84. Jim Morrison, "The Little League World Series' Only Perfect Game," Smithsonian.com, April 5, 2010. Ramona Shelburne, "Giant Steps: A 12-Mile Walk to a Small Texas Town Started a Little League Championship Run for a Team From Monterrey, Mexico. Fifty Years Later, Its Story Is Retold," Los Angeles Daily News , Aug. 26, 2007, S.1. Pablo Jaime Sáinz, "1957 Little League Champions Treated Like Heroes in San Diego," La Prensa San Diego , Nov. 24, 2010, 3. Ben Brigandi, "Macias Returns to LLWS for Ceremony," Williamsport [Pa.] Sun-Gazette , Aug. 24, 2017. "Reynosa Little Leaguers Inspired by 1957 Mexico Champions," Associated Press, Aug. 26, 2017. Steve Wulf, "As Williamsport Opened Its Arms to Mexico's Team, Its Players Embraced the Legacy of Their Predecessors From Monterrey," ESPN, Aug 18, 2016. "Cinderella Club Wins LL Crown," United Press, Aug. 24, 1957. Michael Strauss, <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/1957/08/22/archives/88pounder-hope-of-monterrey-in-little-league-series-today-angel.
Mon, May 11, 2020
An Unlikely Attempt on Everest
In 1932, Yorkshireman Maurice Wilson chose a startling way to promote his mystical beliefs: He would fly to Mount Everest and climb it alone. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Wilson's misguided adventure, which one writer called "the most incredible story in all the eventful history of Mount Everest." Well also explore an enigmatic musician and puzzle over a mighty cola. Intro: The Sanskrit epic poem Shishupala Vadha contains a palindrome that can be read in any of four directions . Type designer Matthew Carter offered a typeface for public buildings that comes with its own graffiti . Sources for our feature on Maurice Wilson: Dennis Roberts, I'll Climb Mount Everest Alone: The Story of Maurice Wilson , 2013. Scott Ellsworth, The World Beneath Their Feet: Mountaineering, Madness, and the Deadly Race to Summit the Himalayas , 2020. Geoff Powter, Strange and Dangerous Dreams: The Fine Line Between Adventure and Madness , 2006. Sherry B. Ortner, Life and Death on Mt. Everest: Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering , 2001. Maurice Isserman, Stewart Angas Weaver, and Dee Molenaar, Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering From the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes , 2010. Conrad Anker, The Call of Everest: The History, Science, and Future of the World's Tallest Peak , 2013. Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air , 1998. Eric Shipton, Upon That Mountain , 1943. Martin Gutmann, "Wing and a Prayer," Climbing , Dec. 6, 2010. Robert M. Kaplan, "Maurice Wilson’s Everest Quest," Quadrant , June 18, 2016. T.S. Blakeney, "Maurice Wilson and Everest, 1934," Alpine Journal 70 (1965), 269-272. John Cottrell, "The Madman of Everest," Sports Illustrated , April 30, 1973. Audrey Salkeld, "The Struggle for Everest," Climbing 188 (Sept. 15, 1999), 108-116. Colin Wells, "Everest the Mad Way," Climbing 224 (Sept. 15, 2003), 40-44. Troy Lennon, "Deadly Lure of Being on Top of the World," [Surry Hills, N.S.W.] Daily Telegraph , May 26, 2006, 74. Ed Douglas, <a href= "https://www.theguardian.com/world/
Mon, May 04, 2020
'The Murder Trial of the Century'
In 1957, an English doctor was accused of killing his patients for their money. The courtroom drama that followed was called the "murder trial of the century." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the case of John Bodkin Adams and its significance in British legal history. We'll also bomb Calgary and puzzle over a passive policeman. Intro: In 1959, James Sellers proposed installing microphones in baseball bases . In the Strand , Henry Dudeney offered a puzzle about asparagus bundles . Sources for our feature on John Bodkin Adams: Patrick Baron Devlin, Easing the Passing: The Trial of Dr John Bodkin Adams , 2004. Sybille Bedford, The Trial of Dr. Adams , 1962. Percy Hoskins, Two Men Were Acquitted: The Trial and Acquittal of Doctor John Bodkin Adams , 1984. Kieran Dolin, "The Case of Dr. John Bodkin Adams: A 'Notable' Trial and Its Narratives," in Brook Thomas, ed., Law and Literature , 2002. Jonathan Reinarz and Rebecca Wynter, eds., Complaints, Controversies and Grievances in Medicine: Historical and Social Science Perspectives , 2014. Russell G. Smith, Health Care, Crime and Regulatory Control , 1998. Gail Tulloch, Euthanasia, Choice and Death , 2005. Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Munby, "Medicine and the Law of Homicide: A Case for Reform?", King's Law Journal 23:3 (December 2012), 207-232. Percy Hoskins, "Points: Dr John Bodkin Adams," British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition) 287:6404 (Nov. 19, 1983), 1555. "Trial of Dr. J. Bodkin Adams," British Medical Journal 1:5020 (March 23, 1957), 712-713. "Trial of Dr. J. Bodkin Adams," British Medical Journal 1:5021 (March 30, 1957), 771-772. "Trial of Dr. J. Bodkin Adams: Expert Evidence," British Medical Journal 1:5022 (April 6, 1957), 828-834. "Trial of Dr. J. Bodkin Adams: Expert Evidence Continued," British Medical Journal 1:5023 (April 13, 1957), 889-894. Daniel E. Murray, "The Trial of Dr. Adams," University of Miami Law Review 13:4 (1959), 494. A.W. Simpson, "Euthanasia for Sale?" , Michigan Law Review</e
Mon, April 27, 2020
Lennie Gwyther
In 1932, 9-year-old Lennie Gwyther set out to ride a thousand kilometers to see the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Along the way he became a symbol of Australian grit and determination. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Lennie's journey, and what it meant to a struggling nation. We'll also recall a Moscow hostage crisis and puzzle over a surprising attack. Intro: Japanese detective novelist Edogawa Rampo's name is a phonetic homage . Samuel Barber decided his future at age 9. Sources for our feature on Lennie Gwyther: Peter Lalor, The Bridge: The Epic Story of an Australian Icon -- The Sydney Harbour Bridge , 2006. Stephanie Owen Reeder, Lennie the Legend: Solo to Sydney by Pony , 2015. Susan Carson, "Spun From Four Horizons: Re-Writing the Sydney Harbour Bridge," Journal of Australian Studies 33:4 (2009), 417-429. Paul Genoni, "The Sydney Harbour Bridge: From Modernity to Post-Modernity in Australian Fiction," Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature 12 (2012), 1-12. "Lennie's Sister Thanks the Community in a Book," South Gippsland Sentinel-Times , Dec. 13, 2018. Rachael Lucas, "Leongatha's Legendary 9yo Lennie Gwyther Garners a Statue for Epic Sydney Harbour Bridge Pony Ride," ABC Gippsland, Oct. 18, 2017. Peter Lalor, "Salute for Bridge Boy Who Rode Into History," Weekend Australian , Oct. 14, 2017, 5. Alexandra Laskie, "Lennie Gwyther's Solo Ride From Leongatha to Sydney Remembered," [Melbourne] Weekly Times , Oct. 13, 2017. Jessica Anstice, "Lennie's Statue to Be Revealed," Great Southern Star , Oct. 10, 2017. Yvonne Gardiner, "Lennie's Famous Ride Adds a New Bronzed Chapter," Queensland Times , June 15, 2017. "Immortalising Lennie," South Gippsland Sentinel-Times , March 1, 2016. Carolyn Webb, <a href= "https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-nineyearold-who-rode-a-pony-1000km-to
Mon, April 20, 2020
Fordlandia
In 1927, Henry Ford decided to build a plantation in the Amazon to supply rubber for his auto company. The result was Fordlandia, an incongruous Midwestern-style town in the tropical rainforest. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the checkered history of Ford's curious project -- and what it revealed about his vision of society. We'll also consider some lifesaving seagulls and puzzle over a false alarm. Intro: In 1891, the Strand tried to notate the songs of English birds . The third line of Gray’s Elegy can be rearranged in 11 different ways while retaining its sense . Sources for our feature on Fordlandia: Greg Grandin, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City , 2010. Elizabeth D. Esch, The Color Line and the Assembly Line: Managing Race in the Ford Empire , 2018. Stephen L. Nugent, The Rise and Fall of the Amazon Rubber Industry: An Historical Anthropology , 2017. Tom W. Bell, Your Next Government?: From the Nation State to Stateless Nations , 2018. Ralf Barkemeyer and Frank Figge, "Fordlândia: Corporate Citizenship or Corporate Colonialism," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 19:2 (2012), 69-78. John Galey, "Industrialist in the Wilderness: Henry Ford's Amazon Venture," Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 21:2 (May 1979), 261-289. Joseph A. Russell, "Fordlandia and Belterra, Rubber Plantations on the Tapajos River, Brazil," Economic Geography 18:2 (April 1942), 125-145. Mary A. Dempsey, "Henry Ford's Amazonian Suburbia," Americas 48:2 (March/April 1996), 44. Nathan J. Citino, "The Global Frontier: Comparative History and the Frontier-Borderlands Approach in American Foreign Relations," Diplomatic History 25:4 (Fall 2001), 677. Anna Tsing, "Earth Stalked by Man," Cambridge Journal of Anthropology 34:1 (Spring 2016), 2-16. Bill Nasson, "Fording the Amazon," South African Journal of Science 106:5-6 (2010), 1-2. Simon Romero, "Deep in Brazil's Amazon, Exploring the Ruins of Ford's Fantasyland," New York Times , Feb. 20, 2017. Drew Reed, <a href= "https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/19/lost-cities-10-f
Mon, April 13, 2020
Half-Safe
In 1946, Australian engineer Ben Carlin decided to circle the world in an amphibious jeep. He would spend 10 years in the attempt, which he called an "exercise in technology, masochism, and chance." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Carlin's unlikely odyssey and the determination that drove him. We'll also salute the Kentucky navy and puzzle over some surprising winners. Intro: During World War II a New Zealand duck served as sergeant in a U.S. Marine battalion. In 1938 H.P. Lovecraft wrote an acrostic sonnet to Edgar Allan Poe. Sources for our feature on Ben Carlin and the Half-Safe : Gordon Bass, The Last Great Australian Adventurer: Ben Carlin's Epic Journey Around the World by Amphibious Jeep , 2017. Boyé De Mente, Once a Fool -- From Tokyo to Alaska by Amphibious Jeep , 2005. William Longyard, A Speck on the Sea: Epic Voyages in the Most Improbable Vessels , 2004. Paula Grey, A History of Travel in 50 Vehicles , 2016. "Across the Atlantic by Jeep," Life 29:21 (Nov. 20, 1950), 149-153. James Nestor, "Half-Safe: A Story of Love, Obsession, and History's Most Insane Around-the-World Adventure," Atavist 20 (December 2012). Justin Pollard, "The Eccentric Engineer: How Sea Sickness and Near-Suffocation Spoiled a Romantic Getaway," Engineering & Technology 14:5 (2019), 89. Gordon Bass, "The Great Escape," Weekend Australian Magazine , July 29, 2017, 20. "50 Years Ago in Alaska," Alaska 73:10 (December 2007/January 2008), 13. Dag Pike, "Still Crazy," Yachting 201:4 (April 2007), 74-78. Eliza Wynn, "Northam Born Adventurer Showcased in Travel Film Festival," [Northam, Western Australia] Avon Valley Advocate , May 23, 2018, 2. "Guildford to Get a Taste of Adventure," Midland Kalamunda [Western Australia] Reporter , April 17, 2018, 5. Troy Lennon, "Aussie Adventurer's Crazy Global Jeep Jaunt," Daily Telegraph , Aug. 1, 2017, 23. "Ben Carlin Subject of New Book," Midland Kalamunda Reporter , Sept. 15, 2015, 2. Lorraine Horsley and Emma Wynne, "School Remembers Perth Adventurer Who Circumnavigated Globe in Half Safe, World War II Amphibious Jeep," ABC Premium News, June 22, 2015.
Sun, April 05, 2020
Voss' Last Stand
In 1917, German pilot Werner Voss had set out for a patrol over the Western Front when he encountered two flights of British fighters, including seven of the best pilots in the Royal Flying Corps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the drama that followed, which has been called "one of the most extraordinary aerial combats of the Great War." We'll also honk at red lights in Mumbai and puzzle over a train passenger's mistake. Intro: The minuet in Haydn's Piano Sonata in A Major is a palindrome . In 1909, Ulysses, Kansas, moved two miles west . Sources for our feature on Werner Voss: Barry Diggens, September Evening: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss , 2012. Dan Hampton, Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, From the Red Baron to the F-16 , 2014. Michael Dorflinger, Death Was Their Co-Pilot: Aces of the Skies , 2017. Michael O'Connor, In the Footsteps of the Red Baron , 2005. Norman S. Leach, Cavalry of the Air: An Illustrated Introduction to the Aircraft and Aces of the First World War , 2014. O'Brien Browne, "Shooting Down a Legend," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 23:2 (Winter 2011), 66. Jon Guttman, "Aerial Warfare Revived the Ancient Drama of the One-on-One Duel," Military History 18:5 (December 2001), 6. O'Brien Browne, "The Red Baron's Lone Wolf Rival," Aviation History 13:6 (July 2003), 30. Jon Guttman, "The Third Battle of Ypres Saw the Death of an Idealistic Generation -- in the Air as Well as on the Ground," Military History 14:5 (December 1997), 6. Kirk Lowry, "September Evening: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss," Military History 22:6 (September 2005), 68. O'Brien Browne, "The Perfect Soldier," Aviation History 22:1 (September 2011), 30-35. David T. Zabecki, "Hallowed Ground German War Cemetery Langemark, Belgium," Military History 32:5 (January 2016), 76-77. O'Brien Browne, "Deadly Duo," Aviation History 24:1 (September 2013), 44-49. A.D. Harvey, "Why Was the Red Baron's Fokker Painted Red? Decoding the Way Aeroplanes Were Painted in the First World War," War in History 8:3 (2001), 323-340. Dick Smith, "Build Your Own Fokker F.I Triplane," Aviation History 13:6 (July 2003), 37. James Lawrence, "A Victory That Vanished in the Mire," Times , May 20, 2017, 16. Robert Hands, "'Master of the Skies for a Fleeting Moment': A
Mon, March 30, 2020
The Johnstown Flood
In 1889, a dam failed in southwestern Pennsylvania, sending 20 million tons of water down an industrialized valley toward the unsuspecting city of Johnstown. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe some of the dramatic and harrowing personal stories that unfolded on that historic day. We'll also celebrate Christmas with Snoopy and puzzle over a deadly traffic light. Intro: For an 1866 California lecture tour, Mark Twain wrote his own handbills . Raymond Chandler's unused titles include The Diary of a Loud Check Suit . Sources for our feature on the Johnstown flood: David McCullough, Johnstown Flood , 1968. Richard O'Connor, Johnstown the Day the Dam Broke , 1957. Neil M. Coleman, Johnstown's Flood of 1889: Power Over Truth and the Science Behind the Disaster , 2018. Frank Connelly and George C. Jenks, Official History of the Johnstown Flood , 1889. John Stuart Ogilvie, History of the Great Flood in Johnstown, Pa., May 31, 1889 , 1889. Willis Fletcher Johnson, History of the Johnstown Flood , 1889. Neil M. Coleman, Uldis Kaktins, and Stephanie Wojno, "Dam-Breach Hydrology of the Johnstown Flood of 1889 -- Challenging the Findings of the 1891 Investigation Report," Heliyon 2:6 (2016), e00120. Christine M. Kreiser, "Wave of Destruction," American History 50:4 (October 2015), 38-41. Uldis Kaktins et al., "Revisiting the Timing and Events Leading to and Causing the Johnstown Flood of 1889," Pennsylvania History 80:3 (2013), 335-363. Sid Perkins, "Johnstown Flood Matched Volume of Mississippi River," Science News , Oct. 20, 2009. Emily Godbey, "Disaster Tourism and the Melodrama of Authenticity: Revisiting the 1889 Johnstown Flood," Pennsylvania History 73:3 (2006), 273-315. Mary P. Lavine, "The Johnstown Floods: Causes and Consequences," in S.K. Majumdar et al., eds., Natural and Technological Disasters: Causes, Effects and Preventative Measures , Pennsylvania Academy of Science, 1992. Robert D. Christie, "The Johnstown Flood," Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 54:2 (April 1971), 198-210. <p
Mon, March 16, 2020
Death at the Lane Cove River
On New Year's Day 1963, two bodies were discovered on an Australian riverbank. Though their identities were quickly determined, weeks of intensive investigation failed to uncover a cause or motive for their deaths. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Bogle-Chandler case, which riveted Australia for years. We'll also revisit the Rosenhan study and puzzle over a revealing lighthouse. Intro: Alphonse Allais' 1897 Funeral March for the Obsequies of a Deaf Man is silent . In 1975 muralist Richard Haas proposed restoring the shadows of bygone Manhattan buildings. Sources for our feature on the Bogle-Chandler case: Peter Butt, Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? , 2017. "A New Twist in the Case That Puzzled a Nation," Canberra Times , Sept. 3, 2016, 2. Damien Murphy, "New Twist in Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler Murder Mystery," Sydney Morning Herald , Sept. 2, 2016. Tracy Bowden, "Two Women May Hold Answer to How Dr Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler Died in 1963," ABC News, Sept. 2, 2016. Tracy Bowden, "Two Women May Hold Key to Bogle-Chandler Case," 7.30 , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sept. 2, 2016. Frank Walker, "Deadly Gas Firms as Chandler-Bogle Killer," Sydney Morning Herald , Sept. 17, 2006, 41. D.D. McNicoll, "Riddle by the Riverside," Weekend Australian , Sept. 9, 2006, 21. Malcolm Brown, "The Gas Did It: Bogle-Chandler Theory Blames Toxic Cloud," Sydney Morning Herald , Sept. 8, 2006, 3. Anna Salleh, "Bogle-Chandler Case Solved?" , ABC Science, Sept. 8, 2006. Michael Edwards, "Experts Divided Over Bogle Death Theory," PM , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sept. 8, 2006. Lisa Power, "Daring Affairs Came to a Gruesome End," Daily Telegraph , Sept. 7, 2006, 28. Skye Yates, "New Year's Curse," Daily Telegraph , March 26, 2001, 63. Tony Stephens, "New Year Murder Theory in Bogle Affair," Sydney Morning Herald , Jan. 2, 1998, 6. Joseph Lose, "Lovers 'Poisoned', Not LSD; Bodies Found Neatly Covered," [Auckland] <
Mon, March 09, 2020
The Public Universal Friend
After a severe fever in 1776, Rhode Island farmer's daughter Jemima Wilkinson was reborn as a genderless celestial being who had been sent to warn of the coming Apocalypse. But the general public was too scandalized by the messenger to pay heed to the message. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Public Universal Friend and the prejudiced reaction of a newly formed nation. We'll also bid on an immortal piano and puzzle over some Icelandic conceptions. Intro: When identical images of a tower are placed side by side, the towers appear to diverge . In 2002, Erl E. Kepner patented a one-sided coffee mug . Sources for our feature on the Public Universal Friend: Paul B. Moyer, The Public Universal Friend: Jemima Wilkinson and Religious Enthusiasm in Revolutionary America , 2015. Herbert Andrew Wisbey, Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend , 1964. Catherine A. Brekus, Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740-1845 , 2000. Michael Bronski, A Queer History of the United States , 2011. Joel Whitney Tibbetts, Women Who Were Called: A Study of the Contributions to American Christianity of Ann Lee, Jemima Wilkinson, Mary Baker Eddy and Aimee Semple McPherson , 1978. Stafford Canning Cleveland, History and Directory of Yates County , 1873. Lewis Cass Aldrich, History of Yates County, N.Y. , 1892. Wilkins Updike, James MacSparran, and Daniel Goodwin, A History of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island, Volume 1 , 1907. Sharon Betcher, "'The Second Descent of the Spirit of Life from God': The Assumption of Jemima Wilkinson," in Brenda E. Brasher and Lee Quinby, eds., Gender and Apocalyptic Desire , 2014. Paul Buckley, "The Public Universal Friend: Jemima Wilkinson and Religious Enthusiasm in Revolutionary America," Friends Journal 62:6 (June-July 2016), 38. Scott Larson, "'Indescribable Being': Theological Performances of Genderlessness in the Society of the Publick Universal Friend, 1776-1819," Early American Studies 12:3 (Fall 2014), 576-600. Shelby M. Balik, "The Public Universal Friend: Jemima Wilkinson and Religious Enthusiasm in Revolutionary Ameri
Mon, March 02, 2020
If Day
In 1942, Manitoba chose a startling way to promote the sale of war bonds -- it staged a Nazi invasion of Winnipeg. For one gripping day, soldiers captured the city, arrested its leaders, and oppressed its citizens. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe If Day, which one observer called "the biggest and most important publicity stunt" in Winnipeg's history. We'll also consider some forged wine and puzzle over some unnoticed car options. Intro: In 1649 Claude Mellan carved a portrait of Jesus with a single line . A pebble discovered in southern Africa may be the earliest evidence of an aesthetic sense among our ancestors. Sources for our feature on If Day: Jody Perrun, The Patriotic Consensus: Unity, Morale, and the Second World War in Winnipeg , 2014. Darren Sean Wershler-Henry, Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg , 2010. Michael Newman, "February 19, 1942: If Day," Manitoba History 13 (Spring 1987), 27-30. Graham Chandler, "If Day: The Occupation of Manitoba," Legion Feb. 1, 2017. Ted Burch, "The Day the Nazis Took Over Winnipeg," Maclean's , Sept. 10, 1960. "Winnipeg Is 'Conquered,'" Life 12:10 (March 9, 1942), 30-32. "Tips for Spotting Nazis," National Post , May 10, 2019. Tristin Hopper, "Rare Photos From 'If Day' — The Time Winnipeg Staged a Full-Scale Nazi Invasion of Itself," National Post , Feb. 21, 2019. Don Pelechaty, "Remembrance Day Memories of 1942," Central Plains Herald-Leader , Nov. 9, 2017, A.17. Mike Huen, "'If Day' Currency Blast From the Possible Past," Winnipeg Free Press , June 30, 2017, E3. Christian Cassidy, "When War Came to Winnipeg: 75 Years Ago, City Staged Bold and Hugely Successful Publicity Stunt," Winnipeg Free Press , Feb. 19, 2017, 1. "75 Years Ago, Winnipeggers Said 'What If?" , Winnipeg Free Press , Feb. 17, 2017. Karen Howlett, "Fundraiser Sees Winnipeg Invaded by Fake Nazis," Globe and Mail , Feb. 19, 2014, A.2. Alexandra Paul, "When War Came to Winnipeg," Winnipeg Free Press , Feb. 19, 2012, A.4.<
Mon, February 24, 2020
The Grasshopper Plagues
In the 1870s, new farmsteads on the American plains were beset by enormous swarms of grasshoppers sweeping eastward from the Rocky Mountains. The insects were a disaster for vulnerable farmers, attacking in enormous numbers and devouring everything before them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the grasshopper plagues and the settlers' struggles against them. We'll also delve into urban legends and puzzle over some vanishing children. Intro: In 2001, a Washington earthquake drew a rose with a pendulum . In 2003, Japanese web designer Nobuyuki Kayahara created a curiously ambiguous animation . Sources for our feature on the grasshopper plagues: Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier , 2009. Annette Atkins, Harvest of Grief: Grasshopper Plagues and Public Assistance in Minnesota, 1873-78 , 2003. Joanna Stratton, Pioneer Women , 2013. Samuel Clay Bassett, Buffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People , 1916. Harold E. Briggs, "Grasshopper Plagues and Early Dakota Agriculture, 1864-1876," Agricultural History 8:2 (April 1934), 51-63. Stephen Gross, "The Grasshopper Shrine at Cold Spring, Minnesota: Religion and Market Capitalism Among German-American Catholics," Catholic Historical Review 92:2 (April 2006), 215-243. Mary K. Fredericksen, "The Grasshopper Wars," The Palimpsest 62:5 (1981), 150-161. Cyrus C. Carpenter, "The Grasshopper Invasion," Annals of Iowa 4:6 (July 1900), 437-447. Chuck Lyons, "The Year of the Locust," Wild West 24:6 (April 2012), 44-49. Wiley Britton, "The Grasshopper Plague of 1866 in Kansas," Scientific Monthly 25:6 (December 1927), 540-545. G. Prosper Zaleski, "The Grasshopper Plague," Scientific American 33:9 (Aug. 28, 1875), 132. Thomas Hayden, "A Long-Ago Plague of Locusts," U.S. News & World Report 136:19 (May 31, 2004), 66. Kathie Bell, "The Grasshopper Plague," Dodge City Daily Globe , April 15, 2019. Lance Nixon, "Dakota Life: The Grasshopper and the Plow," [Topeka, Kan.] Capital Journal , Sept.
Mon, February 17, 2020
The Red Barn
When Maria Marten disappeared from the English village of Polstead in 1827, her lover said that they had married and were living on the Isle of Wight. But Maria's stepmother began having disturbing dreams that hinted at a much grimmer fate. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Red Barn, which transfixed Britain in the early 19th century. We'll also encounter an unfortunate copycat and puzzle over some curious births. Intro: In 1859, a penurious Henry Thoreau donated $5 to a college library . Georges Perec rendered "Ozymandias" without the letter E . Sources for our feature on the Red Barn: James Curtis, The Murder of Maria Marten , 1828. Shane McCorristine, William Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body , 2014. Lucy Worsley, The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock , 2014. James Moore, Murder at the Inn: A History of Crime in Britain's Pubs and Hotels , 2015. Colin Wilson, A Casebook of Murder , 2015. Maryrose Cuskelly, Original Skin: Exploring the Marvels of the Human Hide , 2011. Henry Vizetelly, The Romance of Crime , 1860. "Trial of William Corder for the Murder of Maria Marten," Annual Register , 1828, 337-349. James Redding Ware, Wonderful Dreams of Remarkable Men and Women , 1884. Jessie Dobson, "The College Criminals: 4. William Corder," Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 11:4 (1952), 249. Richard Grady, "Personal Identity Established by the Teeth; the Dentist a Scientific Expert," American Journal of Dental Science 17:9 (1884), 385. Harry Cocks, "The Pre-History of Print and Online Dating, c. 1690-1990," in I. Alev Degim, James Johnson, and Tao Fu, Online Courtship: Interpersonal Interactions Across Borders , 2015. Sarah Tarlow, "Curious Afterlives: The Enduring Appeal of the Criminal Corpse," Mortality 21:3 (2016), 210–228. Ruth Penfold-Mounce, "Consuming Criminal Corpses: Fascination With the Dead Criminal Body," Mortality 15:3 (August 2010), 250-265. "
Mon, February 10, 2020
The Hermit of Suwarrow
In 1952, New Zealander Tom Neale set out to establish a solitary life for himself on a remote island in the South Pacific. In all he would spend 17 years there, building a fulfilling life fending entirely for himself. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Neale's adventures on the island and his impressions of an isolated existence. We'll also revisit Scunthorpe and puzzle over a boat's odd behavior. Intro: A 17th-century London handbill advertised the virtues of coffee . In 1905 Mark Twain illustrated the full meaning of a prayer for military victory . Sources for our feature on Tom Neale: Tom Neale, An Island to Oneself: The Story of Six Years on a Desert Island , 1966. Dom Degnon, Sails Full and By , 1995. James C. Simmons, Castaway in Paradise: The Incredible Adventures of True-Life Robinson Crusoes , 1998. Nataša Potocnik, "Robert Dean Frisbie -- An American Writer in the South Pacific," Acta Neophilologica 33:1-2 (2000), 93-105. Joseph Bockrath, "Law on Remote Islands: The Convergence of Fact and Fiction," Legal Studies Forum 27 (2003), 21. Alexey Turchin and Brian Patrick Green, "Islands as Refuges for Surviving Global Catastrophes," Foresight 21:1 (2019), 100-117. Ella Morton, "The Self-Made Castaway Who Spent 16 Years on an Atoll With His Cats," Slate, Oct. 26, 2015. Bette Thompson, "The Happy Exile," New York Times , Nov. 26, 1972. Gerard Hindmarsh, "An Island to Oneself Revisited," Nelson [New Zealand] Mail , Dec. 15, 2018, 6. "Book Mark," Niue News Update, Sept. 18, 2001. Listener mail: A photo taken by Derryl Murphy's grandfather of a ski plane at Fort Reliance, Northwest Territories. Joel Tansey, "Looking Back at the Original Trapper, Golden's Premier Meeting Place," Golden [B.C.] Star , May 28, 2015. Audre
Mon, January 27, 2020
Helga Estby's Walk
In 1896, Norwegian immigrant Helga Estby faced the foreclosure of her family's Washington farm. To pay the debt she accepted a wager to walk across the United States within seven months. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow her daring bid to win the prize, and its surprising consequence. We'll also toast Edgar Allan Poe and puzzle over a perplexing train. Intro: The Dutch and French words for kidney are reversals of one another . In Japan, Douglas Adams encountered a new conception of persistence . Sources for our feature on Helga Estby: Linda Lawrence Hunt, Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America , 2007. Margaret Riddle, "Estby, Helga (1860-1942)," HistoryLink, Sept. 23, 2011. Stefanie Pettit, "Helga Estby a Walking Tale," Spokesman Review , July 9, 2015, S.8. Pia Hallenberg Christensen, "Cross-Country Walk Inspires Women," [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman Review , May 3, 2008, B.1. Chris Rodkey, "Women Get No Mileage From Cross-Country Trek," Los Angeles Times , July 13, 2003, A.27. Linda Duval, "The Forgotten Walk: Helga Estby's Hike Across America," [Colorado Springs, Colo.] Gazette , June 8, 2003, LIFE1. Dan Webster, "A Feat Nearly Forgotten," [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman Review , April 27, 2003, F1. "Mrs. Helga Estby," Spokane Daily Chronicle , April 21, 1942. "A $10,000 Walk," Saint Paul Globe , June 2, 1897, 3. "From Spokane to New York," San Francisco Call 79:157 (May 5, 1896), 4. Listener mail: Ian Duncan, "New Poe Toaster Takes Up a Baltimore Tradition," Baltimore Sun , Jan. 17, 2016. Keith Perry, "New Spate of Attacks by Sleeping Gas Gang, Caravanners Warned," Telegraph , Sept. 1, 2014. Joel
Mon, January 20, 2020
Grey Owl
In the 1930s the world's best-known conservationist was an ex-trapper named Grey Owl who wrote and lectured ardently for the preservation of the Canadian wilderness. At his death, though, it was discovered that he wasn't who he'd claimed to be. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of his curious history and complicated legacy. We'll also learn how your father can be your uncle and puzzle over a duplicate record. Intro: Dutch engineer Theo Jansen builds sculptures that walk . Helen Fouché Gaines' 1956 cryptanalysis textbook ends with a cipher that "nobody has ever been able to decrypt." Sources for our feature on Grey Owl: Donald B. Smith, From the Land of Shadows: The Making of Grey Owl , 2000. Albert Braz, Apostate Englishman: Grey Owl the Writer and the Myths , 2015. Jane Billinghurst, Grey Owl: The Many Faces of Archie Belaney , 1999. Allison Mitcham, Grey Owl's Favorite Wilderness Revisited , 1991. Lovat Dickson, Wilderness Man: The Strange Story of Grey Owl , 1973. Anahareo, Devil in Deerskins: My Life With Grey Owl , 1972. James Polk, Wilderness Writers , 1972. Brian Bethune, "Truth and Consequences," Maclean's 112:40 (Oct. 4, 1999), 58. Kenneth Brower, "Grey Owl," Atlantic 265:1 (January 1990), 74-84. Trent Frayne, "Grey Owl the Magnificent Fraud," Maclean's 64 (Aug. 1, 1951), 14-16, 37-39. Dane Lanken, "The Vision of Grey Owl," Canadian Geographic 119:2 (March/April 1999), 74-80. Fenn Stewart, "Grey Owl in the White Settler Wilderness: 'Imaginary Indians' in Canadian Culture and Law," Law, Culture and the Humanities 14:1 (Oct. 8, 2014), 161-181. Kevin Young, "Cowboys & Aliens," Kenyon Review 39:6 (November/December 2017), 10-32. David Chapin, "Gender and Indian Masquerade in the Life of Grey Owl," American Indian Quarterly 24:1 (Winter 2000), 91-109. John Hayman, "Grey Owl's Wild Goose Chase," History Today 44:1 (January 1994), 42. Mark Collin Reid, "Grey Owl," Canada's History 95:5 (October/November 2015), 14-15. Donald B. Smith, "Belaney, Archibald Stansfeld [called Grey Owl]," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Sept. 23, 2004. Donald B. Smith, "Belaney,
Mon, January 13, 2020
Leaving St. Kilda
1930 saw the quiet conclusion of a remarkable era. The tiny population of St. Kilda, an isolated Scottish archipelago, decided to end their thousand-year tenure as the most remote community in Britain and move to the mainland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the remarkable life they'd shared on the island and the reasons they chose to leave. We'll also track a stork to Sudan and puzzle over the uses of tea trays. Intro: Reportedly the 3rd Earl of Darnley believed he was a teapot . Henry Hudson's journal records a 1610 encounter with a mermaid . Sources for our feature on St. Kilda: Charles MacLean, Island on the Edge of the World: The Story of St Kilda , 1972. Tom Steel, The Life and Death of St. Kilda: The Moving Story of a Vanished Island Community , 2011. Andrew Fleming, St Kilda and the Wider World: Tales of an Iconic Island , 2005. Alexander Buchan, A Description of St. Kilda, The Most Remote Western Isle of Scotland , 1741. Martin Martin, A Voyage to St. Kilda , 1749. George Seton, St Kilda Past and Present , 1878. Alastair Gray, A History of Scotland , 1989. John Macculloch, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland , 1819. Fraser MacDonald, "St Kilda and the Sublime," Ecumene 8:2 (2001), 151-174. L.F. Powell, "The History of St. Kilda," Review of English Studies 16:61 (January 1940), 44-53. "St. Kilda," British Medical Journal 1:2683 (June 1, 1912), 1249-1251. "St. Kilda," British Medical Journal 2:3418 (July 10, 1926), 80-81. Fergus McIntosh, "A Trip to St. Kilda, Scotland's Lost Utopia in the Sea," New Yorker , Dec. 3, 2017. Alison Campsie, "New Images Throw Light on a St Kilda Fit for the 21st Century," Scotsman , Oct. 8, 2018, 24. Roger Cox, "Deserted Streets, Sea Cliffs and Stark Military Towers Show Real St Kilda in Black and White," Scotsman , May 26, 2018, 58. Neel Mukherjee, "A Veritable No Man's Land, Off the Coast of Scotland," New York Times , May 7, 2018. Alison Campsie, "What It's Like Living on St Kilda," Scotsman , Feb. 21, 2018. "'End of an Era': Last Native of Rem
Mon, January 06, 2020
The Champawat Tiger
At the turn of the 20th century, a rogue tiger terrorized the villages of Nepal and northern India. By the time British hunter Jim Corbett was called in, it had killed 434 people. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Corbett's pursuit of the elusive cat, and his enlightened efforts to address the source of the problem. We'll also revisit a Confederate spy and puzzle over a bloody ship. Intro: Ralph Beaman devised a sentence that ends with 15 prepositions . The stones of Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park chime when struck . Sources for our feature on the Champawat tiger: Jim Corbett, Man-Eaters of Kumaon , 1944. Dane Huckelbridge, No Beast So Fierce: The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Man-Eater in History , 2019. Hemanta Mishra, Bones of the Tiger: Protecting the Man-Eaters of Nepal , 2010. Nayanika Mathur, Paper Tiger , 2016. Sujeet Kumar Singh, et al., "Understanding Human–Tiger Conflict Around Corbett Tiger Reserve India: A Case Study Using Forensic Genetics," Wildlife Biology in Practice 11:1 (June 2015), 1-11. Iti Roychowdhury, "Man Eaters and the Eaten Men: A Study of the Portrayal of Indians in the Writings of Jim Corbett," Research Journal of English Language and Literature 5:1 (January-March 2017), 37-41. A.J.T. Johnsingh, "Status and Conservation of the Tiger in Uttaranchal, Northern India," AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 35:3 (May 2006), 135-137. Jim Doherty, "Tigers at the Gate," Smithsonian 32:10 (January 2002), 66-67. Sarah Zielinski, "How a Tiger Transforms Into a Man-Eater," Science News , March 19, 2019. Adele Conover, "The Object at Hand," Smithsonian 26:8 (November 1995), 28. "Jim Corbett Dies; Big-Game Hunter; Told of His Exploits Against Indian Killer Tigers in 'Man-Eaters of Kumaon,'" New York Times , April 21, 1955. "Champawat Residents Remember Jim Corbett on Birth Anniversary," Hindustan Times , July 26, 2017. "The Remarkable Legacy of Tiger Jim," Independent , Nov. 1, 2007, 38. Michael T. Kaufman, <a href= "https
Mon, December 30, 2019
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Ixonia, Wisconsin, was named at random . Ben Franklin harnessed the power of long-term interest to make large gifts to Boston and Philadelphia. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In two places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from listener Gabriel Bizcarra. Puzzle #2 is adapted from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Puzzle #3 is from Greg. Puzzle #4 is from listener Peter Quinn. Puzzle #5 is from Greg. Here are two links . Puzzle #6 is from Sharon. Two links . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, December 16, 2019
The Mad Trapper of Rat River
In the winter of 1931, a dramatic manhunt unfolded in northern Canada when a reclusive trapper shot a constable and fled across the frigid landscape. In the chase that followed the mysterious fugitive amazed his pursuers with his almost superhuman abilities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the hunt for the "Mad Trapper of Rat River." We'll also visit a forgotten windbreak and puzzle over a father's age. Intro: Korean soldier Yang Kyoungjong was conscripted successively by Japan, the Soviet Union, and Germany . In 1978, Arnold Rosenberg examined idioms to trace a path to the most incomprehensible natural language . RCMP constable Alfred King is at far left in the photo; constable Edgar Millen is second from right. Sources for our feature on Albert Johnson: Dick North, Mad Trapper of Rat River: A True Story of Canada's Biggest Manhunt , 2005. Barbara Smith, The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery , 2011. Richard C. Davis, "The Mad Trapper, by Rudy Wiebe," Arctic 35:2 (1982), 342. Leslie McCartney, "'You Need to Tell That True Albert Johnson Story Like We Know It': Meanings Embedded in the Gwich'in Version of the Albert Johnson Story," Canadian Journal of Native Studies 37:1 (2017), 201-235. "Who Was the Mad Trapper of Rat River?", Forensic Magazine , June 6, 2018. "Lawbreakers: More Hustlers, Rustlers and Wild Men," Canada's History 96:2 (April/May 2016). Jay Merrett, "Caught by the Mad Trapper," Canada's History 93:1 (February/March 2013). Bob Butz, "Bad Guys Gone 'Wild,'" Outdoor Life 213:6 (June/July 2006), 19. Alan Phillips, "Who Was the Mad Trapper of Rat River?" , Maclean's , Oct. 1, 1955. Barbara Roden, "The Mad Trapper Part 4: The Quest to Identify Albert Johnson Begins," [Ashcroft, B.C.] Journal , Sept. 17, 2019. Barbara Roden, "Golden Country: The Mad Trapper Part 5," [Ashcroft, B.C.] Journal , Oct. 3, 2019. Marc Montgomery, "Canada History: Feb 17, 1932: The End and Beginning of the Mystery of the Mad Trapper," Radio Canada International, Feb. 17, 2017. Michael Gates, "Dick North: Farewell to Yukon's Great Storyteller," Yukon N
Mon, December 09, 2019
An Unlikely Confederate Spy
As the Civil War fractured Washington D.C., socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow coordinated a vital spy ring to funnel information to the Confederates. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe one of the war's most unlikely spies, and her determination to aid the South. We'll also fragment the queen's birthday and puzzle over a paid game of pinball. Intro: German officer Ernst Jünger likened the sounds of World War I shelling to "being menaced by a man swinging a heavy hammer." Bowdoin College compiled a list of odd how-to titles . NOTE: After this episode was originally released, some listeners objected to our handling of Greenhow's story, saying that we were treating her too sympathetically when she was defending the institution of slavery. They're entirely right about that -- I had focused on her personal story without being sensitive to its larger implications. I'm very sorry for that oversight. We're presenting the story here as it originally ran, and we'll discuss listeners' reactions to it in Episode 279. -- Greg Sources for our feature: Ann Blackman, Wild Rose: Rose O'Neale Greenhow, Civil War Spy , 2006. Ishbel Ross, Rebel Rose: Life of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy , 1954. Karen Abbott, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War , 2014. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington , 1863. H. Donald Winkler, Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War , 2010. Michael J. Sulick, Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War , 2014. Allan Pinkerton, The Spy of the Rebellion , 1886. John Bakeless, Spies of the Confederacy , 2011. Ernest B. Furgurson, "The End of Illusions," Smithsonian 42:4 (July/August 2011), 56-64. Jack Finnegan, "Professional Results for an Amateur," Military History , suppl. "Spies and Secret Missions: A History of American Espionage" (2002), 34-35. Nancy B. Samuelson, "Employment of Female Spies in the American Civil War," Minerva 7:3 (Dec. 31, 1989), 57. "Seized Correspondence of Rose O'Neal Greenhow," U.S. National Archives (accessed Nov. 24, 2019). <a href= "https://library.duke.edu/rubenst
Mon, December 02, 2019
A Kidnapped Painting
In 1961, Goya's famous portrait of the Duke of Wellington went missing from London's National Gallery. The case went unsolved for four years before someone unexpectedly came forward to confess to the heist. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe one of the greatest art thefts in British history and the surprising twists that followed. We'll also discover Seward's real folly and puzzle over a man's motherhood. Intro: One of the desks on the U.S. Senate floor is full of candy . Astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space . The following list of "Sasha Spottings" comes from Brandi Sweet, caretaker of Bella, Ojo, Schatzi, Babu, and Atte: Episode 9 Episode 46 Episode 63 Episode 114 Episode 139 Episode 144 Episode 146 ("mentioned as purring but I couldn't hear her") Episode 148 Episode 156 Episode 164 Episode 168 Episode 173 Episode 183 Episode 201 Episode 207 Episode 215 Sources for our feature on Kempton Bunton and Goya's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington : Alan Hirsch, The Duke of Wellington, Kidnapped! , 2016. Simon Mackenzie, "Criminal and Victim Profiles in Art Theft: Motive, Opportunity and Repeat Victimisation," Art Antiquity and Law 10:4 (November 2005), 353-370. Melvin E. DeGraw, "Art Theft in Perspective," International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 31:1 (1987), 1-10. Richard LeBlanc, "Thief-Proofing Our Art Museums: Security Expensive? ... Not the Morning After," UNESCO Courier 18:10 (November 1965), 4-6, 10-17 "Hugh Courts' Papers Relating to the Trial of Kempton Bunton," National Gallery (accessed Nov. 17, 2019). "The National Gallery: The Missing Masterpiece," Royal Society (accessed Nov. 17, 2019). James Whitfield, "The Duke Disappears" History Today 61:8 (August 2011), 43-49. "Thefts From Museums," Burlington Magazine 109:767 (February 1967), 55-56. Noah Charney, "The Wac
Mon, November 25, 2019
Death in a Nutshell
In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee brought new rigor to crime scene analysis with a curiously quaint tool: She designed 20 miniature scenes of puzzling deaths and challenged her students to investigate them analytically. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death and their importance to modern investigations. We'll also appreciate an overlooked sled dog and puzzle over a shrunken state. Intro: In a lecture at Cornell, Vladimir Nabokov considered Gregor Samsa's new species . Siren Elise Wilhelmsen taught a clock to knit a scarf. Flickr and the Smithsonian American Art Museum have image galleries of Frances Glessner Lee's nutshell studies. Sources for our story: Corinne May Botz, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death , 2004. Frances Glessner Lee, "Legal Medicine at Harvard University," Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science 42:5 (January-February 1952), 674-678. M. Uebel, "Corpus Delicti: Frances Glessner Lee and the Art of Suspicion," Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 27:2 (2018), 124-126. Jacquelyn A.D. Jones, "The Value and Potential of Forensic Models," Forensics Journal 8 (2017), 58-65. Katherine Ramsland, "The Truth in a Nutshell," Forensic Examiner 17:2 (2008), 1620. "Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," Forensic Magazine , Sept. 8, 2017. Jimmy Stamp, "How a Chicago Heiress Trained Homicide Detectives With an Unusual Tool: Dollhouses," Smithsonian.com, March 6, 2014. Sarah Zhang, "How a Gilded-Age Heiress Became the 'Mother of Forensic Science,'" Atlantic , Oct. 14, 2017. Nicole Cooley, "Death and Feminism in a Nutshell," Paris Review , Feb. 5, 2018. Nigel Richardson, "Murder She Built," Telegraph Magazine , Jan. 31, 2015, 36. Catherine Nixey, "Who Shot Barbie?", Times , Nov. 10, 2014, 9. Jessica Snyder Sachs, "Welcome to the Dollhouses of Death," Popular Science 262:5 (May 2003), 38. William
Mon, November 18, 2019
Alice Ramsey's Historic Drive
In 1909, 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsey set out to become the first woman to drive across the United States. In an era of imperfect cars and atrocious roads, she would have to find her own way and undertake her own repairs across 3,800 miles of rugged, poorly mapped terrain. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Ramsey on her historic journey. We'll also ponder the limits of free speech and puzzle over some banned candy. Intro: Journalist Henri de Blowitz received the Treaty of Berlin in the lining of a hat . In 1895 John Haberle painted a slate so realistic that viewers were tempted to use it. Sources for our feature on Alice Ramsey: Alice Ramsey and Gregory M. Franzwa, Alice's Drive: Republishing Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron, 2005. Curt McConnell, A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It: The First Coast-to-Coast Auto Trips by Women, 1899-1916 , 2000. Women's Project of New Jersey, Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women , 1997. Catherine Gourley, Gibson Girls and Suffragists: Perceptions of Women from 1900 to 1918 , 2008. Christina E. Dando, Women and Cartography in the Progressive Era , 2017. David Holmstrom, "On the Road With Alice," American History 29:3 (July/August 1994). Don Brown and Evan Rothman, "Queen of the Road," Biography 1:2 (February 1997), 48-52. Marina Koestler Ruben, "Alice Ramsey's Historic Cross-Country Drive," Smithsonian.com, June 4, 2009. Katherine Parkin, "Alice Ramsey: Driving in New Directions," New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 4:2 (2018), 160-178. Carla Rose Lesh, "'What a Woman Can Do With an Auto': American Women in the Early Automotive Era," dissertation, State University of New York at Albany, 2010. Brandon Dye, "Girls on the Road," Autoweek 56:36 (Sept. 4, 2006), 34. Jay Levin, "Daughter of Motoring Pioneer Dies," [Bergen County, N.J.] Record , Nov. 18, 2015, L.6. Joe Blackstock, "Alice Ramsey First Woman to Cross U.S. by Car," Inland Valley [Calif.] Daily Bulletin , March 28, 2011. Robert Peele, "History That's More Than the Sum of Its Parts," New York Times , March 26, 2010. "Preservation Society Honors Historic Drive," Reno Gazette-Journal , Oct. 9, 2009. Robert Peele, <a href= "htt
Mon, November 11, 2019
The Cannibal Convict
In 1822, Irish thief Alexander Pearce joined seven convicts fleeing a penal colony in western Tasmania. As they struggled eastward through some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, starvation pressed the party into a series of grim sacrifices. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the prisoners on their nightmarish bid for freedom. We'll also unearth another giant and puzzle over an eagle's itinerary. Intro: Two presenters at an 1884 AAAS meeting reported on "musical sand" at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. In scenes of pathos, Charles Dickens often slipped into blank verse . Sources for our feature on Alexander Pearce: Paul Collins, Hell's Gates , 2014. Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding , 2012. Robert Cox, A Compulsion to Kill: The Surprising Story of Australia's Earliest Serial Killers , 2014. Jane Stadler, Peta Mitchell, and Stephen Carleton, Imagined Landscapes: Geovisualizing Australian Spatial Narratives , 2015. "Alexander Pearce," Convict Records of Australia (accessed Oct. 27, 2019). Roger W. Byard and Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, "Cannibalism Amongst Penitentiary Escapees From Sarah Island in Nineteenth Century Van Diemen's Land," Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology 1:3 (September 2018), 410–415. Therese-Marie Meyer, "Prison Without Walls: The Tasmanian Bush in Australian Convict Novels," Antipodes 27:2 (December 2013), 143-148. Michael A. Ashby and Leigh E. Rich, "Eating People Is Wrong ... or How We Decide Morally What to Eat," Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 10:2 (June 2013), 129–131. Gananath Obeyesekere, "'British Cannibals': Contemplation of an Event in the Death and Resurrection of James Cook, Explorer," Critical Inquiry 18:4 (Summer 1992), 630-654. Craig Cormick, "Confessions of a Cannibal," MARGIN: Monash Australiana Research Group Informal Notes, Issue 62, April 2004. Cassie Crofts, "Australian History: The Cannibal Convict," National Geographic , Jan. 8, 2016. "Alexander Pearce," Australian Geographic (accessed Oct. 27, 2019). Simon Morris, "No Person Can Tell What He Will Do When Driven by Hunger," Australian Geographic 94 (April-June 2009), 74-79. "The Convict Cannibal," Au
Mon, November 04, 2019
The Fraudulent Life of Cassie Chadwick
In 1902, scam artist Cassie Chadwick convinced an Ohio lawyer that she was the illegitimate daughter of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. She parlayed this reputation into a life of unthinkable extravagance -- until her debts came due. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Chadwick's efforts to maintain the ruse -- and how she hoped to get away with it. We'll also encounter a haunted tomb and puzzle over an exonerated merchant. Intro: Inventor Otis L. Boucher offered a steel suit for soldiers during World War I. The tippe top leaps up onto its stem when spun . Sources for our feature on Cassie Chadwick: Kerry Segrave, Women Swindlers in America , 1860-1920, 2014. Alan F. Dutka, Misfortune on Cleveland's Millionaires' Row , 2015. George C. Kohn, The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal , 2001. William Henry Theobald, Defrauding the Government: True Tales of Smuggling, From the Note-book of a Confidential Agent of the United States Treasury , 1908. Karen Abbott, "The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance," Smithsonian.com, June 27, 2012. "Chadwick, Cassie L.," Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (accessed Oct. 20, 2019). Lindsay Kernohan, "Cassie Chadwick: A Very Double Life," Strathroy [Ontario] Age Dispatch , May 17, 2018, A7. Sadie Stein, "Impostors Among Us," Town and Country , February 2017. "Top 10 Imposters," Time , May 26, 2009. "Mrs. Chadwick Measured," Poughkeepsie Journal , Dec. 30, 2004, C.1. "Femme Fatale," D&B Reports 40:4 (July/August 1992), 47. "Cassie Chadwick's Jewels," The Bankers Magazine 106:3 (March 1923), 551. Arthur B. Reeve, "New and Old South Sea Bubbles," World's Work 41:1 (November 1920), 31-35. C.P. Connolly, "Marvelous Cassie Chadwick," McClure's Magazine 48:1 (November 1916), 9-11, 65-71. Wa
Mon, October 28, 2019
Kidnapped by North Korea
In 1978, two luminaries of South Korean cinema were abducted by Kim Jong-Il and forced to make films in North Korea in an outlandish plan to improve his country's fortunes. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok and their dramatic efforts to escape their captors. We'll also examine Napoleon's wallpaper and puzzle over an abandoned construction. Intro: In 1891, Robert Baden-Powell encoded the locations of Dalmatian forts in innocent drawings of butterflies . Legal scholar Mark V. Tushnet suggests how a 16-year-old might seek the presidency . Sources for our feature on Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok: Paul Fischer, A Kim Jong-Il Production , 2015. Johannes Schönherr, North Korean Cinema: A History , 2012. Steven Chung, Split Screen Korea: Shin Sang-ok and Postwar Cinema , 2014. Bradley K. Martin, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty , 2007. "Choi Eun-hee: South Korean Actress Who Was Kidnapped by North Dies," BBC, April 17, 2018. Martin Belam, "Choi Eun-hee, Actor Once Abducted by North Korea, Dies," Guardian , April 17, 2018. "A Hong Kong Kidnap: How Kim Jong-il Had South Korea's Top Actress Abducted From Repulse Bay," South China Morning Post , March 25, 2015. "Famed South Korean Actress Choi Eun-Hee, Who Was Abducted by North Korean Spies in Hong Kong for Film Fan Kim Jong-Il, Dies Aged 91," South China Morning Post , April 17, 2018. Olivier Holmey, "Remembering Choi Eun-hee, the South Korean Film Actor Once Abducted by Pyongyang," Independent , May 14, 2018. Ilana Kaplan, "Choi Eun-Hee Dead: South Korean Actress Once Kidnapped by North Korea Dies Aged 92," Independent , April 17, 2018. Ba
Mon, October 21, 2019
The Sack of Baltimore
One night in 1631, pirates from the Barbary coast stole ashore at the little Irish village of Baltimore and abducted 107 people to a life of slavery in Algiers -- a rare instance of African raiders seizing white slaves from the British Isles. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the sack of Baltimore and the new life that awaited the captives in North Africa. We'll also save the Tower of London and puzzle over a controversial number. Intro: In 1999, inventor Allison Andrews proposed dividing all our pants in half . In 1955, test pilot Alvin Johnston put an airliner through a barrel roll . Sources for our feature on the sack of Baltimore: Des Ekin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates , 2012. Nabil Matar, British Captives From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic , 2014. David D. Hebb, Piracy and the English Government 1616–1642: Policy-Making Under the Early Stuarts , 2016. Sir Robert Lambert Playfair, The Scourge of Christendom: Annals of British Relations With Algiers Prior to the French Conquest , 1884. Theresa D. Murray, "From Baltimore to Barbary: The 1631 Sack of Baltimore," History Ireland 14:4 (July/August 2006). Nabil Matar, "The Barbary Corsairs, King Charles I and the Civil War," Seventeenth Century 16:2 (October 2001), 239-258. Nabil I. Matar, "Wives, Captive Husbands, and Turks: The First Women Petitioners in Caroline England," Explorations in Renaissance Culture 40:1-2 (Summer-Winter 2014), 125+. Paul Baepler, "The Barbary Captivity Narrative in American Culture," Early American Literature 39:2 (January 2004), 217-246. Robert C. Davis, "Counting European Slaves on the Barbary Coast," Past & Present 172 (August 2001), 87-124. Paul Baepler, "White Slaves, African Masters," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 588 (July 2003), 90-111. Erik Göbel, "The Danish Algerian Sea Passes, 1747-1838: An Example of Extraterritorial Production of Human Security," Historical Social Research 35:4, 164-189. Des Ekin, "The Irish Village That Was Kidnapped by Islamist Extremists," Irish Independent , Sept. 2, 2006, 1. "Cork Village to Recall Historical Event i
Mon, October 14, 2019
The Great Impostor
Ferdinand Demara earned his reputation as the Great Impostor: For over 22 years he criss-crossed the country, posing as everything from an auditor to a zoologist and stealing a succession of identities to fool his employers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review Demara's motivation, morality, and techniques -- and the charismatic spell he seemed to cast over others. We'll also make Big Ben strike 13 and puzzle over a movie watcher's cat. Intro: In 1825, Thomas Steele proposed enclosing Isaac Newton's residence in a pyramid surmounted by a stone globe . In 1923 Arthur Guiterman found a rhyme for wasp . Sources for our feature on Ferdinand Demara: Robert Crichton, The Great Impostor , 1959. Robert Crichton, The Rascal and the Road , 1961. Frank E. Hagan, Introduction to Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior , 2008. Joe McCarthy, "The Master Imposter: An Incredible Tale," Life , Jan. 28, 1952. Susan Goldenberg, "Unmasked," Canada's History 91:1 (February/March 2011), 31-36. Ray Cavanaugh, "Brother, Doctor, Soldier, Lies," National Catholic Reporter 51:20 (July 17, 2015), 16. David Goldman, "The Great Impostor," Biography 4:8 (August 2000), 24. "Ferdinand Waldo Demara, 60, An Impostor in Varied Fields," Associated Press, June 9, 1982. Tim Holmes, "Ferdinand Waldo Demara: One of the Greatest Imposters the World Has Ever Seen," Independent , Aug. 29, 2019. Kevin Loria, "The True Story of a Con Artist Who Conducted Surgeries, Ran a Prison, Taught College, and More," Business Insider, Feb. 20, 2016. "Americana: Ferdinand the Bull Thrower," Time , Feb. 25, 1957. Samuel Thurston, "Champion Rascal," New York Times , July 26, 1959. <a href= "http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1900621_1900618_
Mon, October 07, 2019
The Murchison Murders
In 1929, detective novelist Arthur Upfield wanted to devise the perfect murder, so he started a discussion among his friends in Western Australia. He was pleased with their solution -- until local workers began disappearing, as if the book were coming true. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Murchison murders, a disturbing case of life imitating art. We'll also incite a revolution and puzzle over a perplexing purchase. Intro: Jacques Jouet wrote a love poem in the language of Tarzan's great apes . To accompany Apollo 11, the president of Ivory Coast wrote a message to the moon . Above: Snowy Rowles with James Ryan's car, photographed by Arthur Upfield. Sources for our feature on the Murchison murders: Arthur Upfield, The Murchison Murders , 1932. Arthur Upfield, The Sands of Windee , 1931. Arthur Upfield, Up and Down the Real Australia , 2009. Jack Coulter, With Malice Aforethought , 1982. James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Dangerous to Know: An Australasian Crime Compendium , 2009. Travis Barton Lindsey, Arthur William Upfield: A Biography , dissertation, Murdoch University, 2005. Carol Hetherington, "Bony at Home and Abroad: The Arthur Upfield Phenomenon," Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (2009). Bill Casey, "Some Burning Issues: Arthur Upfield and the Murchison Murders, Marginalising Aboriginal People and Suggestions on Teaching Australia's History of Frontier Violence," Australian Aboriginal Studies 1 (2018), 29-42. "Turning Pages," The Age , July 18, 2015, 29. Christopher Fowler, "Arthur Upfield," Independent , Sept. 15, 2013, 16. Terry Sweetman, "Perfect Murder Around the Fire," [Brisbane] Courier-Mail , Aug. 25, 2013, 55. James Cockington, "Detective Work Pays Off: Enjoy It - Collect," Sydney Morning Herald , Nov. 17, 2010, 13. Rachel Browne, "Perfect Crime," [Sydney] Sun-Herald , June 14, 2009, 3. Bridget McManus, "A Novel Approach to Crime," Sydney Morning Herald , June 8, 2009, 6. Many thanks to Graham Marshall for his help in researching this story. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "The Scottish Play" (accessed Sept. 4, 2019). Royal Shakespeare Company, "The Curse of the Scottish Play" (accessed Sept. 4, 2019). <a href= "https://www.t
Mon, September 30, 2019
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are seven new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: The Rotator typeface presents the digits 0-9 even when turned upside down . In 1897 The Strand designed a complete alphabet using three human acrobats . The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from Kyle's Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles . Puzzle #2 was contributed by listener Chris. Puzzle #3 was contributed by listener Wayne. Here are two links with further information. Puzzle #4 is from listener Jeff Harvey. Puzzle #5 is from listener Ben Sack, who sent two corroborating links . Puzzle #6 is based on an item in Dan Lewis' Now I Know newsletter. Here's a corroborating link . Puzzle #7 is from listener Katie Tripp. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you
Mon, September 16, 2019
The Great Hedge of India
In the 19th century, an enormous hedge ran for more than a thousand miles across India, installed by the British to enforce a tax on salt. Though it took a Herculean effort to build, today it's been almost completely forgotten. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe this strange project and reflect on its disappearance from history. We'll also exonerate a rooster and puzzle over a racing murderer. Intro: A group of plasterers working in London’s Tate Britain art gallery in 1897 left a message for future generations . Four chemical elements were discovered in the same Swedish mine . Sources for our feature on the Great Hedge of India: Roy Moxham, The Great Hedge of India: The Search for the Living Barrier that Divided a People , 2001. Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A World History , 2011. Sir William Henry Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official , 1844. Shugan Chand Aggarwal, The Salt Industry in India , 1976. Sir John Strachey, India , 1888. Ajit K. Neogy, The Paramount Power and the Princely States of India, 1858-1881 , 1979. Henry Francis Pelham, Essays , 1911. G.S. Chhabra, Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: 1813-1919 , 1971. D.A. Barker, "The Taxation of Salt in India," The Economic Review 20 (1910), 165-172. Nicholas Blomley, "Making Private Property: Enclosure, Common Right and the Work of Hedges," Rural History 18:1 (2007), 1-21. Barry Lewis, "Village Defenses of the Karnataka Maidan, AD 1600–1800," South Asian Studies 25:1 (2009), 91-111. Roy Moxham, "Salt Starvation in British India: Consequences of High Salt Taxation in Bengal Presidency, 1765 to 1878," Economic and Political Weekly 36:25 (June 23-29, 2001), 2270-2274. Roy Moxham, <a href= "https://inis.iaea
Mon, September 09, 2019
Jack Renton and the Saltwater People
In 1868, Scottish sailor Jack Renton found himself the captive of a native people in the Solomon Islands, but through luck and skill he rose to become a respected warrior among them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Renton's life among the saltwater people and his return to the Western world. We'll also catch some more speeders and puzzle over a regrettable book. Intro: Thanks to one representative's 1904 demand, the U.S. House dining room serves a perpetual bean soup . A 1962 Times correspondent asserts that all thrushes quote Mozart . Sources for our feature on Jack Renton: Nigel Randell, The White Headhunter: The Story of a 19-Century Sailor Who Survived a South Seas Heart of Darkness , 2004. Clive Moore, Making Mala: Malaita in Solomon Islands, 1870s–1930s , 2017. Judith A. Bennett, Wealth of the Solomons: A History of a Pacific Archipelago, 1800-1978 , 1987. Walter George Ivens, Revival: Melanesians of the South-East Solomon Islands , 1927. Dennis Chute, "Shipwrecked on an Island Paradise," Edmonton Journal , Feb. 1, 2004, D11. Christopher Hudson, "Life and Death of a White Headhunter," [Melbourne] Sunday Herald-Sun , Aug. 17, 2003, 37. "The White Headhunter," Geographical 75:8 (August 2003), 64. Stephen McGinty, "Portrait of a Head Hunter," Scotsman , July 26, 2003, 1. "Secret Life of the White Headhunter," Scotsman , March 2, 2003. "The Adventures of John Renton," [Melbourne] Argus , Oct. 23, 1875. "The Recovery of John Renton From the Solomon Islands," Rockhampton [Queensland] Bulletin , Sept. 17, 1875. "Renton, John," Solomon Islands Historical Encyclopaedia 1893-1978 (accessed Aug. 25, 2019). Listener mail: "German Constitutional Court Questions Speed Camera Reliability," TheNewspaper.com, July 5, 2019. "Finland," SpeedingEurope.com, July 7, 2019. Joe Pinsker, "Finland, Home of the $103,000 Speeding Tick
Mon, September 02, 2019
Memories of Proust
Confined in a Soviet prison camp in 1941, Polish painter Józef Czapski chose a unique way to cope: He lectured to the other prisoners on Marcel Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time . In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Czapski's ambitious project and the surprising importance of literature to the prisoners of oppressive regimes. We'll also race some lemons and puzzle over a woman's birthdays. Intro: A piano keyboard can be used as a calendar mnemonic. After the Civil War, thousands of Confederates settled in Brazil . Sources for our feature on Józef Czapski: Józef Czapski, Lost Time: Lectures on Proust in a Soviet Prison Camp , 2018. Eric Karpeles, Almost Nothing: The 20th-Century Art and Life of Józef Czapski , 2018. Józef Czapski, The Inhuman Land , 1952. Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin , 2012. György Faludy, My Happy Days in Hell , 1962. Jan Zielinski, "Milosz and Wat Read Brzozowski," Studies in East European Thought 63:4 (November 2011), 293-302. Aden Kumler and Christopher R. Lakey, " Res et significatio : The Material Sense of Things in the Middle Ages," Gesta 51:1 (2012), 1-17. Józef Czapski et al., "An Appeal on Behalf of the Western Edition of Puls ," Polish Review 24:4 (1979), 122. Eric Karpeles, "Proust in Prison," Brick: A Literary Journal 102 (Winter 2019), 128-137. John Gray, "Józef Czapski: Painter, Prisoner, and Disciple of Proust," New Statesman , May 1, 2019. Marta Figlerowicz, "Poland's Forgotten Bohemian War Hero," Boston Review, Feb. 6, 2019. Paul Dean, "In Memoriam," New Criterion 37:7 (March 2019), 60-62. Andrew Schenker, "The Work of Historical Witness: Józef Czapski’s 'Lost Time' and 'Inhuman Land,'" Los Angeles Review of Books , Dec. 18, 2018. Ayten Tartici, "Reading Proust in the Gulag," New York Times Book Review , Jan. 16, 2019. Michael Pinker, "Józef Czapski: A Life in Translation," Review of Contemporary Fiction 29:3 (Fall 2009), 182-183. Edward Alden Jewell, <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/1939/12/13/archives/polish-art-works-to-assist-relief-c
Mon, August 26, 2019
A Modern-Day Thoreau
In 1968, Richard Proenneke left his career as a heavy equipment operator and took up an entirely new existence. He flew to a remote Alaskan lake, built a log cabin by hand, and began a life of quiet self-reliance. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll hear Proenneke's reflections on a simple life lived in harmony with nature. We'll also put a rooster on trial and puzzle over a curious purchase. Intro: Joshua Steele preserved David Garrick's line readings in a "prosodia rationalis." The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 passed because one large MP was counted as 10 . Sources for our feature on Richard Proenneke: Sam Keith, One Man's Wilderness , 1973. John Branson, More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke , 2012. "Reflections on a Man in His Wilderness," National Parks 91:2 (Spring 2017), 52-58. Rosanne Pagano, "A Pebble in the Water," National Parks 83:2 (Spring 2009), 24-31. Rona Marech, "Off the Grid," National Parks 91:2 (Spring 2017), 4. Leigh Newman, "Cabin Fever," Sunset 234:2 (February 2015), 28-32. "A Modern Day Thoreau," Alaska 69:7 (Sept. 2003), 78-79. Jennifer Rebecca Kelly and Stacy Rule, "The Hunt as Love and Kill: Hunter-Prey Relations in the Discourse of Contemporary Hunting Magazines," Nature and Culture 8:2 (2013), 185-204. Shelley Fralic, "An Icon for Modern Times; He Lived Alone for 32 Years in a Cabin He Built in Alaska," Vancouver Sun , March 26, 2010, A.15. Jene Galvin, "Alaskan Cabin an Adventurer's Shrine," Cincinnati Enquirer , Oct. 28, 2007, 1. Jenna Schnuer, "An Alaska National Park as Big as Connecticut. Annual Visitors? 23,000," New York Times , July 16, 2018. Michael Babcock, "Check Out 'Alone in the Wilderness,'" Great Falls [Mont.] Tribune , Dec. 8, 2011, O.1. Robert Cross, "Wrangell-St. Elias/Lake Clark: A Pair Too Big to Comprehend," Knight Ridder Tribune News Service, June 16, 2003, 1. "Proenneke's Cabin," Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, National Park Service (
Mon, August 19, 2019
The Murder of Lord William Russell
In May 1840 London was scandalized by the murder of Lord William Russell, who'd been found in his bed with his throat cut. The evidence seemed to point to an intruder, but suspicion soon fell on Russell's valet. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the investigation and trial, and the late revelation that decided the case. We'll also marvel at Ireland's greenery and puzzle over a foiled kidnapping. Intro: Marshal Ney directed his own execution. Lewis Carroll invented an alphabet he could write in the dark. Sources for our feature on the murder of Lord William Russell: Yseult Bridges, Two Studies in Crime , 1959. Claire Harman, Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London , 2019. Thomas Dunphy and Thomas J. Cummins, Remarkable Trials of All Countries , 1870. J.E. Latton Pickering, Report of the Trial of Courvoisier for the Murder of Lord William Russell, June 1840 , 1918. William Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard: A Romance , 1839. "Remarkable Cases of Circumstantial Evidence," in Norman Wise Sibley, Criminal Appeal and Evidence , 1908. Samuel Warren, "The Mystery of Murder, and Its Defence," in Miscellanies, Critical, Imaginative, and Juridical , 1855, 237-271. "Trial, Confession, and Execution of Courvoisier for the Murder of Lord Wm. Russell: Memoir of F.B. Courvoisier, Lord W. Russell's Valet [broadside]," 1840. "Russell, Lord William (1767-1840)," in D.R. Fisher, ed., The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1820-1832 , 2009. "The Practice of Advocacy: Mr. Charles Phillips, and His Defence of Courvoisier," Littell's Living Age 25:313 (May 18, 1850), 289-311. "English Causes Celebres ," Legal News 14:39 (Sept. 26, 1891), 310-311. O'Neill Ryan, <a href= "https://openscholarship.wustl.ed
Mon, August 12, 2019
The Rugged Road
In 1934, two Englishwomen set out to do what no one had ever done before: travel the length of Africa on a motorcycle. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron from Algiers to Cape Town on a 14,000-mile adventure that many had told them was impossible. We'll also anticipate some earthquakes and puzzle over a daughter's age. Intro: Among the survivors of the Titanic were two boys who were unclaimed by any adult . In 1638, Galileo saw through a mistake in Aristotle simply by thinking about it . Sources for our feature on Theresa Wallach and Florence Blenkiron's trans-African odyssey: Theresa Wallach, The Rugged Road , 2001. Steven E. Alford and Suzanne Ferriss, Motorcycle , 2007. Iain Burns, "The British Women Who Conquered the Sahara," Daily Mail, Jan. 22, 2018. Miles Davis, "Incredible Journeys," Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader 267 (June 2006), 143-145. "Theresa Wallach – Motorcycle Pioneer of the 1930s," Archives Blog, Institution of Engineering and Technology (accessed July 28, 2019). "Through Africa by Motor-Cycle (1934-1935)," Africa Overland Network, July 9, 2014. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Earthquake Warning System" (accessed July 27, 2019). Wikipedia, "Earthquake Early Warning (Japan)" (accessed July 27, 2019). Wikipedia, "Mexican Seismic Alert System" (accessed August 1, 2019). Wikipedia, "2017 Puebla Earthquake" (accessed August 1, 2019). "Earthquake Early Warning System," Japan Meteorological Agency. Sarah E. Minson, et al., "The Limits of Earthquake Early Warning Accuracy and Best Alerting Strategy: Discussion," Scientific Reports 9:1 (Feb. 21, 2019), 2478. Sarah
Mon, August 05, 2019
The Astor Place Riot
The second-bloodiest riot in the history of New York was touched off by a dispute between two Shakespearean actors. Their supporters started a brawl that killed as many as 30 people and changed the institution of theater in American society. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Astor Place riot, "one of the strangest episodes in dramatic history." We'll also fertilize a forest and puzzle over some left-handed light bulbs. Intro: In 1968, mathematician Dietrich Braess found that installing a traffic shortcut can actually lengthen the average journey . What key is "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" written in? Sources for our feature on the Astor Place riot: Nigel Cliff, The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America , 2007. Richard Moody, The Astor Place Riot , 1958. Lawrence Barrett, Edwin Forrest , 1881. Joel Tyler Headley, Pen and Pencil Sketches of the Great Riots , 1873. H.M. Ranney, Account of the Terrific and Fatal Riot at the New-York Astor Place Opera House , 1849. Leo Hershkowitz, "An Anatomy of a Riot: Astor Place Opera House, 1849," New York History 87:3 (Summer 2006), 277-311. Bill Kauffman, "New York's Opera House Brawl," American Enterprise 13:4 (June 2002), 51. M. Alison Kibler, "'Freedom of the Theatre' and 'Practical Censorship': Two Theater Riots in the Early Twentieth Century," OAH Magazine of History 24:2 (April 2010), 15-19. Edgar Scott, "Edwin Forrest, First Star of the American Stage," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 84 (1960), 495-497. Adam I.P. Smith, "The Politics of Theatrical Reform in Victorian America," American Nineteenth Century History 13:3, 321-346. Daniel J. Walkowitz, "'The Gangs of New York': The Mean Streets in History," History Workshop Journal 56 (Autumn 2003), 204-209. Gretchen Sween, "Rituals, Riots, Rules, and Rights: The Astor Place Theater Riot of 1849 and the Evolving Limits of Free Speech," Texas Law Review 81:2 (December 2002), 679-713. Michael J. Collins, "'The Rule of Men Entirely Great': Republicanism, Ritual, and Richelieu in Melville's 'The Two Temples,'" Comparative American Studies 10:4 (December 2012), 304-317. Loren Kruger, "Our Theater? S
Mon, July 29, 2019
The First Great Train Robbery
In 1855 a band of London thieves set their sights on a new target: the South Eastern Railway, which carried gold bullion to the English coast. The payoff could be enormous, but the heist would require meticulous planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the first great train robbery, one of the most audacious crimes of the 19th century. We'll also jump into the record books and puzzle over a changing citizen. Intro: British birdwatcher Chris Watson discovered Scottish starlings memorializing forgotten farm machinery. Can a psychotic patient's "sane" self consent to a procedure on his "insane" self? Sources for our feature on the great gold robbery of 1855: David C. Hanrahan, The First Great Train Robbery , 2011. Donald Thomas, The Victorian Underworld , 1998. Adrian Gray, Crime & Criminals of Victorian England , 2011. Jonathan Oates, Great Train Crimes: Murder & Robbery on the Railways , 2010. G.A. Sekon, The History of the South-Eastern Railway , 1895. David Morier Evans, Facts, Failures, and Frauds: Revelations, Financial, Mercantile, Criminal , 1859. Michael Robbins, "The Great South-Eastern Bullion Robbery," The Railway Magazine 101:649 (May 1955), 315–317. "The Story of a Great Bullion Robbery," Chambers's Journal 2:59 (Jan. 14, 1899), 109-112. "Law Intelligence," Railway Times 19:46 (Nov. 15, 1856), 1355. "Chronicle: January, 1857," Annual Register , 1857. "The Gold Dust Robbery," New York Times , Nov. 12, 1876. "Edward Agar: Deception: Forgery, 22nd October 1855," Proceedings of the Old Bailey (accessed July 19, 2019). Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Kiwi Campus" (accessed July 14, 2019). Carolyn Said, <a href= "https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/articl
Mon, July 15, 2019
The Sledge Patrol
In 1943 an isolated sledge patrol came upon a secret German weather station in northeastern Greenland. The discovery set off a series of dramatic incidents that unfolded across 400 miles of desolate coast. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow this arctic struggle, an often overlooked drama of World War II. We'll also catch some speeders and puzzle over a disastrous remedy. Intro: In 1970 the Journal of Organic Chemistry published a paper in blank verse . In 1899 the Journal of Mental Science described a man who cycled in his sleep . Sources for our feature on the North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol: David Howarth, The Sledge Patrol , 1957. Mark Llewellyn Evans, Great World War II Battles in the Arctic , 1999. John McCannon, A History of the Arctic: Nature, Exploration and Exploitation , 2012. Bjørnar Olsen and Þóra Pétursdóttir, Ruin Memories: Materialities, Aesthetics and the Archaeology of the Recent Past , 2014. Spencer Apollonio, Lands That Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland , 2008. Jens Fog Jensen and Tilo Krause, "Wehrmacht Occupations in the New World: Archaeological and Historical Investigations in Northeast Greenland," Polar Record 48:3 (2012), 269-279. Leif Vanggaard, "The Effects of Exhaustive Military Activities in Man: The Performance of Small Isolated Military Units in Extreme Environmental Conditions," Royal Danish Navy Gentofte (Denmark) Danish Armed Forces Health Services, 2001. "History: The Sledge Patrol," Arctic Journal , April 6, 2017. M.J. Dunbar, "Greenland During and Since the Second World War," International Journal 5:2 (Spring 1950), 121-140. Maria Ackrén and Uffe Jakobsen, "Greenland as a Self-Governing Sub-National Territory in International Relations: Past, Current and Future Perspectives," Polar Record 51:4 (July 2015), 404-412. Anthony K. Higgins, "Exploration History and Place Names of Northern East Greenland," Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Bulletin 21, 2010. David Howarth, "Secrets of the Unknown War," Saturday Evening
Mon, July 08, 2019
Lasseter's Reef
In 1930 Harold Lasseter claimed he'd discovered an enormous deposit of gold in the remote interior of Australia, and a small group of men set off into the punishing desert in search of a fortune estimated at 66 million pounds. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Lasseter's reef, one of the most enduring legends of the Australian outback. We'll also reconsider the mortality rates of presidents and puzzle over an unlocked door. Intro: Where is pain? In the early 1800s a Frenchman known as Tarrare gained fame for eating practically anything . Sources for our feature on Lasseter's reef: David Hill, Gold!: The Fever That Forever Changed Australia , 2010. Ion Llewellyn Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride , 1940. National Library of Australia, National Treasures from Australia's Great Libraries , 2005. Andrew Bain, "Lasseter's Footsteps," Australian Geographic 69 (January-March 2003), 100. Declan Cooley, "Gladstone Man's Massive Gold Find Claim, Needs Mining Giant," [Gladstone, Queensland] Observer , Feb. 24, 2017. Simon Caterson, "Lasseter's Gold: Search for Reef a Sparkling Story by Warren Brown," Australian , Sept. 5, 2015. Warren Brown, "Lasseter's Gold: Could Letter Finally Solve the Mystery of Dead Explorer Harold Lasseter and Gold Treasure?" Sunday Telegraph , Sept. 12, 2015. Bob Watt, "Battered Suitcase Reveals a Rich History," Northern Territory News , May 3, 2015, 38. "Google Earth Helps in Hunt for Lasseter's Reef of Gold," Sunshine Coast Daily , July 2, 2013, 2. Kathy Marks, "El Dorado 'Found' on Google Earth," Independent , June 30, 2013. "Lasseter's Legendary Reef of Gold Still Beckoning Aussie 'Battlers,'" New Zealand Herald , June 22, 2013, B.4. Nicole Hasham, <a href= "https://www.smh.com.au/technology/google-puts-gold-on-map-for-mates-seeking-lasseters-
Mon, July 01, 2019
Death on the Ice
In 1914, 132 sealers found themselves stranded on a North Atlantic icefield as a bitter blizzard approached. Thinly dressed and with little food, they faced a harrowing night on the ice. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Newfoundland sealing disaster, one of the most dramatic chapters in Canadian maritime history. We'll also meet another battlefield dog and puzzle over a rejected necklace. Intro: England has seen some curious cricket matches . In 1940 two Australian planes collided in midair and landed as one . Above: Crewmembers carry bodies aboard the Bellaventure . Sources for our feature on the 1914 sealing disaster: Cassie Brown, Death on the Ice: The Great Newfoundland Sealing Disaster of 1914 , 2015. Melvin Baker, "The Struggle for Influence and Power: William Coaker, Abram Kean, and the Newfoundland Sealing Industry, 1908–1915," Newfoundland and Labrador Studies 28:1 (2013). Willeen Keough, "(Re-) Telling Newfoundland Sealing Masculinity: Narrative and Counter-Narrative," Journal of the Canadian Historical Association / Revue de la Société historique du Canada 21:1 (2010), 131-150. R.M. Kennedy, "National Dreams and Inconsolable Losses: The Burden of Melancholia in Newfoundland Culture," in Despite This Loss: Essays on Culture, Memory, and Identity in Newfoundland and Labrador , 2010, 103-116. Kjell-G. Kjær, "Where Have All the Barque Rigged Sealers Gone?", Polar Record 44:3 (July 2008), 265-275. Helen Peters, "Shannon Ryan, The Ice Hunters: A History of Newfoundland Sealing to 1914 , Newfoundland History Series 8 [review]," Newfoundland and Labrador Studies 12:1 (1996). Raymond Blake, "Sean Cadigan, Death on Two Fronts: National Tragedies and the Fate of Democracy in Newfoundland, 1914–34 [review]," Newfoundland and Labrador Studies 30:1 (2015). Michael Harrington and Barbara Moon, "Tragedy on Ice: One of the Most Dramatic Disasters in Canadian History Occurred on the Newfoundland Ice Floes in 1914," Maclean's 113:48 (Nov. 27, 2000), 76. "Disaster on the Ice," [Winnipeg] Beaver 89:3 (June/July 2009), 22-23. Guy Ray, "Seal Wars," Canadian Geographic 120:2 (January/February 2000), 36-48. Jenny Higgins
Mon, June 24, 2019
The Porthole Murder
In 1947 actress Gay Gibson disappeared from her cabin on an ocean liner off the coast of West Africa. The deck steward, James Camb, admitted to pushing her body out a porthole, but insisted she had died of natural causes and not in a sexual assault. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the curious case of the porthole murder, which is still raising doubts today. We'll also explore another fraudulent utopia and puzzle over a pedestrian's victory. Intro: Soldiers in World War I described "shell sense" -- an uncanny foreknowledge of imminent shellfire . British artist Patrick Hughes creates three-dimensional paintings that reverse the traditional rules of perspective . Sources for our feature on the death of Gay Gibson: Geoffrey Clark, ed., Trial of James Camb , 1949. Colin Evans, The Casebook of Forensic Detection: How Science Solved 100 of the World's Most Baffling Crimes , 2007. Robin Odell and Wilfred Gregg, Murderers' Row: An International Murderers' Who's Who , 2011. J.F. Northey, "Murder. Proof of Corpus Delicti," Modern Law Review 15:3 (July 1952), 348-351. Lee Aitken, "Interpreting R V Baden-Clay: 'Discovering the Inward Intention', or 'What Lies Under the Veil'?", University of Queensland Law Journal 35:2 (2016) 301-311. Robert Kennaugh, "Proving Murder Without a Body," De Rebus Procuratoriis 1969:24 (1969), 485-491. Basil Hearde, "The Vanished Redhead in Cabin 126," Sea Classics 35:2 (February 2002), 54. T. Mervyn Jones, " Trial of James Camb (The Port-Hole Murder) by Geoffrey Clark [review]," Cambridge Law Journal 10:3 (1950), 492-494. H.A. Hammelmann, " The Trial of James Camb by Geoffrey Clark [review]," Modern Law Review 13:4 (October 1950), 546-547. Richard Latto, "Porthole Murder: Did Gay Gibson Die From Natural Causes?" , BBC News, March 22, 2018. Laura Connor, "The Lady Vanishes," Paisley [Scotland] Daily Express , April 7, 2018, 8. John Macklin, "Deathly Nightmare Comes True; The Murder He Saw in His Dreams Was Soon to Become a Brutal Fact," [Moncton, N.B.] Times & Transcript , Nov. 30, 2002. "Murder Most Foul on Durban Castle: Liner Gains Notoriety After 'Porthole Killer' Dumps Woman's Body Overboard," [Durban, South Africa]
Mon, June 17, 2019
The Dame of Sark
In June 1940, German forces took the Channel Islands, a small British dependency off the coast of France. They expected the occupation to go easily, but they hadn't reckoned on the island of Sark, ruled by an iron-willed noblewoman with a disdain for Nazis. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Sibyl Hathaway and her indomitable stand against the Germans. We'll also overtake an earthquake and puzzle over an inscrutable water pipe. Intro: Raymond Chandler gave 10 rules for writing a detective novel . In 1495 Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical knight . Sources for our feature on Sybil Hathaway: Sybil Hathaway, Dame of Sark: An Autobiography , 1961. Alan and Mary Wood, Islands in Danger: The Story of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands, 1940-1945 , 1955. Gilly Carr, Paul Sanders, and Louise Willmot, Protest, Defiance and Resistance in the Channel Islands , 2014. Madeleine Bunting, The Model Occupation: The Channel Islands Under German Rule, 1940-1945 , 2014. Roy MacLoughlin, Living With the Enemy: An Outline of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands With First Hand Accounts by People Who Remember the Years 1940 to 1945 , 2002. Cheryl R. Jorgensen-Earp, Discourse and Defiance Under Nazi Occupation: Guernsey, Channel Islands, 1940-1945 , 2013. Hazel Knowles Smith, The Changing Face of the Channel Islands Occupation: Record, Memory and Myth , 2014. George Forty, German Occupation of the Channel Islands , 2002. Paul Sanders, The British Channel Islands Under German Occupation , 1940-1945, 2005. George Forty, Channel Islands at War: A German Perspective , 2005. Gilly Carr, "Shining a Light on Dark Tourism: German Bunkers in the British Channel Islands," Public Archaeology 9:2 (2010), 64-84. Gillian Carr, "The Archaeology of Occupation and the V-Sign Campaign in the Occupied British Channel Islands," International Journal of Historical Archaeology 14:4 (2010), 575-592. Gilly Carr, "Occupation Heritage, Commemoration and Memory in Guernsey and Jersey," History and Memory 24:1 (Spring 2012), 87-117, 178. Gilly Carr, "Concrete's Memory: Positioning Ghosts of War in the Channel Islands," Terrain 69 (April 2018). Peter Tabb
Mon, June 10, 2019
The Wild Boy of Aveyron
In 1800 a 12-year-old boy emerged from a forest in southern France, where he had apparently lived alone for seven years. His case was taken up by a young Paris doctor who set out to see if the boy could be civilized. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore the strange, sad story of Victor of Aveyron and the mysteries of child development. We'll also consider the nature of art and puzzle over the relationship between salmon and trees. Intro: Reading Luc Étienne's expressions forward and backward produces sentences in different languages . In 1883 John Maguire invented a raincoat that wouldn't make your legs wet . Sources for our feature on Victor of Aveyron: Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron , 1976. Geoff Rolls, Classic Case Studies in Psychology , 2010. Julia V. Douthwaite, The Wild Girl, Natural Man, and the Monster: Dangerous Experiments in the Age of Enlightenment , 2002. Adriana S. Benzaquén, Encounters With Wild Children: Temptation and Disappointment in the Study of Human Nature , 2006. Patrick McDonagh, Idiocy: A Cultural History , 2008. Richard M. Silberstein and Helen Irwin, "Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard and the Savage of Aveyron: An Unsolved Diagnostic Problem in Child Psychiatry," Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry 1:2 (1962), 314-322. Murray K. Simpson, "From Savage to Citizen: Education, Colonialism and Idiocy," British Journal of Sociology of Education 28:5 (September 2007), 561-574. Annemieke1 van Drenth, "Sensorial Experiences and Childhood: Nineteenth-Century Care for Children With Idiocy," Paedagogica Historica 51:5 (October 2015), 560-578. Raf Vanderstraeten and Gert Biesta, "How Is Education Possible? Pragmatism, Communication and the Social Organisation of Education," British Journal of Educational Studies 54:2 (June 2006), 160-174. Patrick McDonagh, "The Mute's Voice: The Dramatic Transformations of the Mute and Deaf-Mute in Early-Nineteenth-Century France," Criticism 55:4 (Fall 2013), 655-675. Nicole Simon, "Kaspar Hauser's Recovery and Autopsy: A Perspective on Neurological and Sociological Requirements for Language Development," Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia 8:2 (1978), 209-217. Andrey Vyshedskiy, Rita Dunn, and Shreyas Mahapatra, "Linguistically Deprived Children: Meta-Analysis of Published Research Underlines th
Mon, June 03, 2019
Joseph Palmer's Beard
In 1830 Joseph Palmer created an odd controversy in Fitchburg, Massachusetts: He wore a beard when beards were out of fashion. For this social sin he was shunned, attacked, and ultimately jailed. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of a bizarre battle against irrational prejudice. We'll also see whether a computer can understand knitting and puzzle over an unrewarded long jump. Intro: Prospector William Schmidt dug through California's Copper Mountain. The bees of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, are customarily informed of funerals. Sources for our feature on Joseph Palmer: Stewart Holbrook, "The Beard of Joseph Palmer," American Scholar 13:4 (Autumn 1944), 451-458. Paul Della Valle, Massachusetts Troublemakers: Rebels, Reformers, and Radicals From the Bay State , 2009. John Matteson, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father , 2010. Richard Corson, Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years , 2001. Stewart H. Holbrook, Lost Men of American History , 1947. Zechariah Chafee, Freedom of Speech , 1920. Clara Endicott Sears and Louisa May Alcott, Bronson Alcott's Fruitlands , 1915. George Willis Cooke, Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Life, Writings, and Philosophy , 1881. Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Theodore Parker: A Biography , 1874. Louisa May Alcott, Transcendental Wild Oats , 1873. Joseph J. Thorndike Jr., "Fruitlands," American Heritage 37:2 (February/March 1986). David Demaree, "Growing the Natural Man: The Hirsute Face in the Antebellum North," American Nineteenth Century History 18:2 (June 2017), 159–176. Richard E. Meyer, "'Pardon Me for Not Standing': Modern American Graveyard Humor," in Peter Narváez, ed., Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folkore and Popular Culture , 2003. J. Joseph Edgette, "The Epitaph and Personality Revelation," in Richard E. Meyer, ed., Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture , 1989. Herbert Moller, "The Accelerated Development of Youth: Beard Growth as a Biological Mark
Mon, May 27, 2019
The General Slocum
In 1904 a Manhattan church outing descended into horror when a passenger steamboat caught fire on the East River. More than a thousand people struggled to survive as the captain raced to reach land. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the burning of the General Slocum , the worst maritime disaster in the history of New York City. We'll also chase some marathon cheaters and puzzle over a confusing speeding ticket. Intro: In 1959 a Norwegian insulation company wrangled a three-ton block of ice from the arctic to the equator. At his death in 1838, the governor of Bombay was transported into innumerable pussycats. Sources for our feature on the General Slocum : Edward T. O'Donnell, Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum , 2003. Henry Davenport Northrop, New York's Awful Steamboat Horror , 1904. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce , 1915. "In re Knickerbocker Steamboat Co. (District Court, S.D. New York, April 7, 1905)," in The Federal Reporter: Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States , Volume 136, 1905. Gilbert King, "A Spectacle of Horror -- The Burning of the General Slocum," Smithsonian.com, Feb. 21, 2012. Frances A. Scully, "Tragic Last Voyage of the General Slocum," Sea Classics 37:2 (February 2004), 14-17, 66-67. Valerie Wingfield, "The General Slocum Disaster of June 15, 1904," New York Public Library, June 13, 2011. Ted Houghtaling, "Witness to Tragedy: The Sinking of the General Slocum," New York Historical Society Museum & Library, Feb. 24, 2016. Valerie Bauman, "Anniversary of 1904 General Slocum Steamboat Disaster Marked," Newsday , June 10, 2017. "100 Years After the General Slocum Fire, Smoke on the Water," Newsday , June 15, 2004, A42. Glenn Collins, <a href= "https:
Mon, May 20, 2019
The Robbers Cave Experiment
In 1954 a social psychologist started a war between two teams of fifth graders at an Oklahoma summer camp. He wanted to investigate the sources of human conflict and how people might overcome them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the Robbers Cave Experiment and examine its evolving reputation. We'll also dredge up a Dalek and puzzle over a hazardous job. Intro: Butler University mathematician Jerry Farrell can control coin flips . Nashville attorney Edwin H. Tenney gave a baffling Independence Day speech in 1858. Sources for our feature on the Robbers Cave experiment: Muzafer Sherif et al., Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment , 1961. Gina Perry, The Lost Boys: Inside Muzafer Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment , 2018. Ayfer Dost-Gozkan and Doga Sonmez Keith, Norms, Groups, Conflict, and Social Change: Rediscovering Muzafer Sherif's Psychology , 2015. Paul Bloom, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil , 2013. Gina Perry, "The View From the Boys," Psychologist 27:11 (November 2014), 834-836. Ralph H. Turner, "Some Contributions of Muzafer Sherif to Sociology," Social Psychology Quarterly 53:4 (December 1990), 283-291. Muzafer Sherif, "Superordinate Goals in the Reduction of Intergroup Conflict," American Journal of Sociology 63:4 (January 1958), 349-356. Gregory M. Walton and Carol S. Dweck, "Solving Social Problems Like a Psychologist," Perspectives on Psychological Science 4:1 (January 2009), 101-102. O.J. Harvey, "Muzafer Sherif (1906–1988)," American Psychologist 44:10, October 1989, 1325-1326. Elton B. McNeil, "Discussions and Reviews: Waging Experimental War: A Review," Journal of Conflict Resolution 6:1 (March 1962), 77. Alex Haslam, "War and Peace and Summer Camp," Nature 556:7701 (April 19, 2018), 306-307. Steven N. Durlauf, "A Framework for the Study of Individual Behavior and Social Interactions," Sociological Methodology 31 (2001), 47. Gary Alan Fine, "Review: Forgotten Classic: The Robbers Cave Experiment," Sociological Forum 19:4 (December 2004), 663-666. Andrew Tyerman and Christopher Spencer, "A Critical Test of the Sherifs' Robber's Cave Experiments: Intergroup Competition and Cooperation Between Groups of Well-Acquainted Individuals," Small Group Research 14:4 (November 1983), 515-531. Samuel L. Gaertner et al., "Reducing Intergroup Conflict
Mon, May 13, 2019
Smoky the War Dog
In 1944, an American soldier discovered a Yorkshire terrier in an abandoned foxhole in New Guinea. Adopted by an Army photographer, she embarked on a series of colorful adventures that won the hearts of the humans around her. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Smoky the dog, one of the most endearing characters of World War II. We'll also contemplate chicken spectacles and puzzle over a gratified diner. Intro: In 1955 a Wisconsin supermarket manager fulfilled the requirements for a promotional trip to Mars . In 1898, Jules Verne sent a congratulatory telegram to honor the first submarine to operate successfully in the open sea. Sources for our feature on Smoky the dog: Damien Lewis, Smoky the Brave , 2018. Kari Williams, "Champion Mascot, Fearless War Dog," VFW Magazine 105:10 (August 2018), 42-43. "The Tale of Bill Wynne and 'Smoky the War Dog,'" Veteran's News Journal , Aug. 6, 2018, A3. Rebecca Frankel, "Dogs at War: Smoky, a Healing Presence for Wounded WWII Soldiers," National Geographic , May 22, 2014. Brian Albrecht, "Smoky of World War II Recognized by U.S. War Dogs Association," Cleveland Plain Dealer , Oct. 13, 2017. Linda Slusser, "The Story of Smoky, The First Therapy Dog," American Kennel Club, Aug. 11, 2016. Marie Wilson, "A 'Yorkie Doodle Dandy' Dog," [Arlington Heights, Ill.] Daily Herald , Aug. 3, 2014, 1. Damien Lewis, "The Tiniest Hero," [Adelaide, South Australia] Advertiser , June 9, 2018, 18. Ron Simon, "A Veteran's Story: WWII Recon Photographer's Canine Sidekick Is Claim to Fame," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal , Jan. 14, 2008, A3. Ron Simon, "Local Man's Dog Prompts War Memorial," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal , Nov. 11, 2005, A1. Karl Terry, "Author of Dog Tales Visits ENMU," McClatchy-Tribune Business News, May 9, 2007, 1. Harry Levins, "Museum Notes: Every Dog Has His Day, Even the Soldierly Breeds," St. Louis Post-Dispatch , April 29, 1996, 4. Ron Simon, "Veteran's Dog Was a Loved Mascot for Unit During WWII," [Mansfield, Ohio] News Journal , Aug. 8, 2004, B1. Ron Simon, "Stuff: Special Wartime Hero Gets an Award," [Mansfield,
Mon, May 06, 2019
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was suggested by an item on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are two corroborating links . Puzzle #2 is by Greg. Here's a link . Puzzle #3 was suggested by an item in Dan Lewis' Now I Know enewsletter. Here are two links . Puzzle #4 is from Greg. Puzzle #5 is from Sharon. Puzzle #6 was contributed by listener David White, who sent this link . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, April 29, 2019
Gene Tierney's Secret Heartbreak
At the height of her fame in 1943, movie star Gene Tierney contracted German measles during pregnancy and bore a daughter with severe birth defects. The strain ended her marriage to Oleg Cassini and sent her into a breakdown that lasted years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Tierney's years of heartbreak and the revelation that compounded them. We'll also visit some Japanese cats and puzzle over a disarranged corpse. Intro: The indexes of two mathematics textbooks contain hidden jokes . In 1973 Stanford statistician Herman Chernoff proposed using cartoon faces to encode information . Sources for our feature on Gene Tierney: Gene Tierney, Self-Portrait , 1979. Oleg Cassini, In My Own Fashion , 1990. Steven Rybin, Gestures of Love: Romancing Performance in Classical Hollywood Cinema , 2017. Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, Femme Noir: Bad Girls of Film , 2013. Agatha Christie, The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side , 1962. Dan Callahan, "Only a Dream," Sight & Sound 22:3 (March 2012), 50-53. Maureen Orth, "Cassini Royale," Vanity Fair 52:9 (September 2010), 302. Amy Davidson Sorkin, "Wakefield's Vaccine Follies," New Yorker , May 26, 2010. "Gene Tierney," Variety , Nov. 10, 1991. "Welcome for a Troubled Beauty," Life , Sept. 29, 1958, 87-92. "Debutante Gene Tierney Makes Her Entrance in a Broadway Success," Life , Feb. 19, 1940, 35-40. Donald G. McNeil Jr., "Rubella Has Been Eliminated From the Americas, Health Officials Say," New York Times , April 29, 2015. Patti S. Spencer, "60-Year-Old Divorce Agreement Put to the Test," [Lancaster, Pa.] Intelligencer Journal , Sept. 24, 2012, B.8. "Oleg Cassini," Times , March 21, 2006, 63. Richard Severo and Ruth La Ferla, "Oleg Cassini, Designer for the Stars and Jacqueline Kennedy, Die
Mon, April 22, 2019
Jeanne Baret
The first woman to circumnavigate the world did so dressed as a man. In 1766, 26-year-old Jeanne Baret joined a French expedition hoping to conceal her identity for three years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of her historic journey around the globe. We'll also hear Mark Twain's shark story and puzzle over a foiled con artist. Intro: In 1856 Samuel Hoshour wrote an imaginary correspondence full of polysyllabic words . In 1974 Dennis Upper published a study of his intractable writer's block . Sources for our feature on Jeanne Baret: Glynis Ridley, The Discovery of Jeanne Baret , 2010. Sandra Knapp, "History: The Plantswoman Who Dressed as a Boy," Nature 470 (Feb. 3, 2011), 36–37. Eric J. Tepe, Glynis Ridley, and Lynn Bohs, "A New Species of Solanum Named for Jeanne Baret, an Overlooked Contributor to the History of Botany," PhytoKeys 8 (2012), 37. H. Walter Lack, "The Discovery, Naming and Typification of Bougainvillea spectabilis ( Nyctaginaceae )," Willdenowia 42:1 (2012), 117-127. Genevieve K. Walden and Robert Patterson, "Nomenclature of Subdivisions Within Phacelia ( Boraginaceae: Hydrophylloideae )," Madroño 59:4 (2012), 211-223. Beth N. Orcutt and Ivona Cetinic, "Women in Oceanography: Continuing Challenges," Oceanography 27:4 (2014), 5-13. Londa Schiebinger, "Exotic Abortifacients and Lost Knowledge," Lancet 371:9614 (2008), 718-719. Frank N. Egerton, "History of Ecological Sciences, Part 61C: Marine Biogeography, 1690s–1940s," Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 100:1 (January 2019), 1-55. Vivienne Baillie Gerritsen, "Moody Wallpaper," Protein Spotlight 33 (2003). Richard H. Grove, "Origins of Western Environmentalism," Scientific American 267:1 (July 1992), 42-47. Allison Bo
Mon, April 15, 2019
The Women's Protest
In February 1943, hundreds of German women joined in a spontaneous protest in central Berlin. They were objecting to the roundup of some of the city's last Jews -- their husbands. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Rosenstrasse protest, a remarkable example of civil disobedience. We'll also ponder whether a computer can make art and puzzle over some unusual phone calls. Intro: Between 1946 and 1953, British wordplay maven Leigh Mercer published 100 immortal palindromes in Notes & Queries . In 1933 English sculptor John Skeaping recorded his opinions of his contemporaries inside a horse of mahogany . Sources for our feature on the Rosenstrasse demonstration: Nathan Stoltzfus, Resistance of the Heart: Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany , 2001. Wolf Gruner and Ursula Marcum, "The Factory Action and the Events at the Rosenstrasse in Berlin: Facts and Fictions About 27 February 1943: Sixty Years Later," Central European History 36:2 (2003), 179-208. Nathan Stoltzfus, "Historical Evidence and Plausible History: Interpreting the Berlin Gestapo's Attempted 'Final Roundup' of Jews (Also Known as the 'Factory Action')," Central European History 38:3 (2005), 450-459. Wolf Gruner, "A 'Historikerstreit?' A Reply to Nathan Stoltzfus' Response," Central European History 38:3 (2005), 460-464. Michael Geyer, "Resistance of the Heart: Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany (review)," Journal of Church and State 40:1 (Winter 1998), 189-190. "The Rosenstrasse Incident Is Recounted," Canadian Jewish News , Feb. 27, 1997, 11. Jeff McMillan, "A Moment of Courage in Hitler's Berlin," Chronicle of Higher Education 43:8 (Oct. 18, 1996), A9. Evan B. Bukey, "Widerstand in der Rosenstrasse: Die Fabrik-Aktion und die Verfolgung der 'Mischehen' 1943 (review)," Holocaust and Genocide Studies 21:2 (Fall 2007). Ron Madson, "The Restoration of Conscientious Objection," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 51:4 (Winter 2018), 77-103, 251. Nathan Stoltzfus, "Dissent in Nazi Germany," Atlantic 270:3 (September 1992), 86-94. Nathan Stoltzfus and Mordechai Paldiel, "Rosenstrasse at 75," Jerusalem Post , Feb. 24, 2018. Julia M. Klein, "The Time Hitler Blinked," Forward , Aug. 5, 2016, 23-24. "Lecture: Nonviolent Resistance to Nazis," University Wire, Nov. 3, 2013. Dori Laub, "In Search of the
Mon, April 08, 2019
The Peshtigo Fire
In 1871, while the Great Chicago Fire was riveting the nation's attention, a blaze six times as deadly was ravaging a desperate town in northeastern Wisconsin. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Peshtigo fire, the deadliest wildfire in American history. We'll also watch an automated western and puzzle over some discounted food. Intro: Harry Mathews composed a poem in which every syllable is doubled . In 1766, French draughtsman Charles-Louis Clérisseau painted a Roman room to resemble a ruin . Sources for our feature on the Peshtigo fire: Denise Gess and William Lutz, Firestorm at Peshtigo , 2002. Peter Pernin, "The Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account," Wisconsin Magazine of History 54:4 (Summer 1971), 246-272. United States Department of Agriculture, Report on Forestry, Volume 3 , 1882. William F. Steuber Jr., "The Problem at Peshtigo," Wisconsin Magazine of History 42:1 (Autumn 1958), 13-15. Hutch Brown, "'The Air Was Fire': Fire Behavior at Peshtigo in 1871," Fire Management Today 64:4 (Fall 2004), 20-30. Sara E. Caton, et al., "Review of Pathways for Building Fire Spread in the Wildland Urban Interface Part I: Exposure Conditions," Fire Technology 53:2 (2017), 429-473. Jack Cohen, "The Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Problem," Forest History Today 11 (2008), 20-26. Lisa A. Schulte and David J. Mladenoff, "Severe Wind and Fire Regimes in Northern Forests: Historical Variability at the Regional Scale," Ecology 86:2 (2005), 431-445. Robert N. Meroney, "Fire Whirls and Building Aerodynamics," Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Wind Engineering , 2003. Stewart Holbrook, "The Peshtigo Fire," American Scholar 13:2 (Spring 1944), 201-209. Michael E. Telzrow, "The Peshtigo Fire," New American 22:5 (March 6, 2006), 33-38. John Steele Gordon, "Forgotten Fury," American Heritage 54:2 (April/May 2003), 35. Tom Skilling, "Was Peshtigo Fire Worse Than the Great Chicago Fire?" Chicago Tribune , Oct. 7, 2018. Chelsey Lewis, "Remembering America's Deadliest Forest Fire," Wausau [Wis.] Daily Herald , July 22, 2018, C.3. Michael S. Rosenwald, "'The Night America Burned': The Dea
Mon, March 25, 2019
The Cardiff Giant
In 1869, two well diggers in Cardiff, N.Y., unearthed an enormous figure made of stone. More than 600,000 people flocked to see the mysterious giant, but even as its fame grew, its real origins were coming to light. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Cardiff giant, one of the greatest hoaxes of the 19th century. We'll also ponder the effects of pink and puzzle over a potentially painful treatment. Intro: Edgar Rice Burroughs invented a variant of chess for a book set on Mars. Due to an unfortunate edict, a ladder in Jerusalem has remained unmoved for 200 years . Sources for our feature on the Cardiff giant: Scott Tribble, A Colossal Hoax , 2008. Nate Hendley, The Big Con , 2016. Magnus Magnusson, Fakers, Forgers and Phoneys , 2007. Brian Innes, Fakes & Forgeries , 2005. Mark Rose, "When Giants Roamed the Earth," Archaeology 58:6 (2005), 30-35. Barbara Franco, "The Cardiff Giant: A Hundred Year Old Hoax," New York History 50:4 (October 1969), 420-440. James Taylor Dunn, "The Cardiff Giant Hoax," New York History 29:3 (July 1948), 367-377. Michael Pettit, "'The Joy in Believing': The Cardiff Giant, Commercial Deceptions, and Styles of Observation in Gilded Age America," Isis 97:4 (December 2006), 659-677. Julian D. Corrington, "Nature Fakes," Bios 27:3 (October 1956), 159-169. Kat Eschner, "The Cardiff Giant Was Just a Big Hoax," Smithsonian.com, Oct. 16, 2017. Jessie Szalay, "Cardiff Giant: 'America's Biggest Hoax,'" Live Science, Aug. 16, 2016. Ruth Mosalski, "Cardiff Giant Turned Out to Be Really Big US Hoax," South Wales Echo , Jan. 21, 2017, 24. Gerald Smith and George Basler, "Hull Earned a Spot in 'Con Man's Hall of Fame,'" [Binghamton, N.Y.] Press & Sun-Bulletin , Oct. 6, 2014, 4. Ed Kemmick, "'Petrified' Man Was Big Attraction in Turn-of-the-Last-Century Montana," Billings Gazette , March 13, 2009. Bill White, "Cardiff Giant, Piltdown Man -- And Now Heydt Man," [Allentown, Pa.] Morning Call , March 10, 2001, B3. "It Was a Giant Joke, Now Largely Forgotten," Associated Press, Nov. 14, 1999
Mon, March 18, 2019
A Case of Scientific Self-Deception
In 1903, French physicist Prosper-René Blondlot decided he had discovered a new form of radiation. But the mysterious rays had some exceedingly odd properties, and scientists in other countries had trouble seeing them at all. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of N-rays, a cautionary tale of self-deception. We'll also recount another appalling marathon and puzzle over a worthless package. Intro: In the 1960s, two dolphins at Hawaii's Sea Life Park were inadvertently switched and performed each other's acts. Franz Bibfeldt is an invisible scholar at the University of Chicago divinity school. Sources for our feature on Prosper-René Blondlot and the N-rays: René Blondlot, Julien François, and William Garcin, "N" Rays: A Collection of Papers Communicated to the Academy of Sciences, With Additional Notes and Instructions for the Construction of Phosphorescent Screens , 1905. William Seabrook, Doctor Wood , 1941. Walter Gratzer, The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-Deception, and Human Frailty , 2001. Terence Hines, Pseudoscience and the Paranormal , 2003. Richard C. Brown, Are Science and Mathematics Socially Constructed? , 2009. Robert W. Proctor and E.J. Capaldi, Psychology of Science: Implicit and Explicit Processes , 2012. Paul Collins, Banvard's Folly , 2015. Roelf Bolt, The Encyclopaedia of Liars and Deceivers , 2014. Walter Gratzer and Walter Bruno Gratzer, Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes , 2004. Robert W. Wood, How to Tell the Birds From the Flowers , 1907. Robert W. Wood, "The n-Rays," Nature 70:1822 (1904), 530-531. Mary Jo Nye, "N-Rays: An Episode in the History and Psychology of Science," Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences 11:1 (1980), 125-156. Robert T. Lagemann, "New Light on Old Rays: N Rays," American Journal of Physics 45:281 (1977), 281-284. Irving M. Klotz, "The N-ray Affair," Scientific American 242:5 (1980), 168-175. John Butler Burke, "The Blondlot n-Rays," Nature 70 (June 30, 1904), 198. John Butler Burke, "The Blondlot n-Rays," N
Mon, March 11, 2019
The Shark Papers
In 1799 two Royal Navy ships met on the Caribbean Sea, and their captains discovered they were parties to a mind-boggling coincidence that would expose a crime and make headlines around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the shark papers, one of the strangest coincidences in maritime history. We'll also meet some Victorian kangaroos and puzzle over an expedient fire. Intro: Hungarian composer György Ligeti wrote a symphonic poem for 100 metronomes . In 1935 a 7-year-old Berliner fell in love with Adolf Hitler. Sources for our feature on the shark papers: Edgar K. Thompson, "Tale of the Nancy Brig," Mariner's Mirror 56:1 (January 1970), 97-104. D.A. Proctor, "Notes: Michael Fitton," Mariner's Mirror 79:2 (May 1993), 206-208. Edward Warren Guyol, "The Navy, the Shark, and the 'Nancy' Brig," Harper's Weekly 52:2708 (Nov. 14, 1908), 29. W.J. Fletcher, "Michael Fitton," Temple Bar 114:5 (July 1898), 350-364. Clinton Vane de Brosse Black, Tales of Old Jamaica , 1966. Edward Rowe Snow, Marine Mysteries and Dramatic Disasters of New England , 1976. Sir Philip Manderson Sherlock, Jamaica Way , 1962. Caroline Rochford, Forgotten Songs and Stories of the Sea , 2016. Xavier Maniguet, The Jaws of Death: Sharks as Predator, Man as Prey , 2007. Julia W. Wolfe, "Shark Tale of Jamaica; Old Papers at Kingston Tell a Strange Sea Story of 1799," New York Times , April 20, 1941. "Pirates Convicted by Shark," [Burnie, Tasmania] Advocate , July 2, 1935. "The Shark That Ate the Papers of the Nancy Brig," Otago [New Zealand] Daily Times , June 12, 1920. "The King's Dominion of the Islands: Major and Minor West Indian Notes," United Empire: The Royal Colonial Institute Journal 7:4 (April 1916), 271-276. "Odds and Ends," Wide World Magazine 1:5 (August 1898), 554-560. "Miscellaneous," [Portland, Maine] Ea
Mon, March 04, 2019
The Man-Eaters of Tsavo
In 1898, two lions descended on a company of railway workers in British East Africa. For nine months they terrorized the camp, carrying off a new victim every few days, as engineer John Patterson struggled to stop them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll track the "man-eaters of Tsavo" and learn what modern science has discovered about their motivations. We'll also consider more uses for two cars and puzzle over some prolific penguins. Intro: MIT drops a piano off a building every year. French architect Étienne-Louis Boullée proposed honoring Isaac Newton with a sarcophagus inside a 500-foot globe . Sources for our feature on the Tsavo man-eaters: John Henry Patterson, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo , 1907. J.H. Patterson, "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo: The Lions That Stopped a Railway," Wide World Magazine 10:55 ( October 1902 ), 3-12; 10:56 ( November 1902 ), 112-118. J.H. Patterson, "The Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo," Field Museum of Natural History, 1926. Philip Caputo, Ghosts of Tsavo , 2002. Bruce D. Patterson, The Lions of Tsavo , 2004. Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans and Thomas Patrick Gnoske, "The Science of 'Man-Eating' Among Lions Panthera leo With a Reconstruction of the Natural History of the 'Man-Eaters of Tsavo,'" Journal of East African Natural History 90:1 (2001), 1-41. T.P. Gnoske, G.G. Celesia, and J.C. Kerbis Peterhans, "Dissociation Between Mane Development and Sexual Maturity in Lions ( Panthera leo ): Solution to the Tsavo Riddle?" Journal of Zoology 270:4 (2006), 551-560. Justin D. Yeakel, et al., "Cooperation and Individuality Among Man-Eating Lions," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106:45 (2009), 19040-19043. Bruce D. Patterson, et al., "Livestock Predation by Lions ( Panthera leo ) and Other Carnivores on Ranches Neighboring Tsavo National Parks, Kenya," Biological Conservation 119:4 (2004), 507-516. Bruce D. Patterson, <a href= "https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bruce_Patterson2/publication/226507245_On_the_Nature_and_Significanc
Mon, February 25, 2019
The Plight of Mary Ellen Wilson
In 1873 a Methodist missionary in New York City heard rumors of a little girl who was kept locked in a tenement and regularly whipped. She uncovered a shocking case of neglect and abuse that made headlines around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell how one girl's ordeal led to a new era in child welfare. We'll also outsource Harry Potter and puzzle over Wayne Gretzky's accomplishments. Intro: By a 1976 resolution, George Washington forever outranks every other officer in the U.S. Army . Humorist Robert Benchley invented some creative excuses for missing deadlines . Sources for our feature on Mary Ellen Wilson: Eric A. Shelman and Stephen Lazoritz, The Mary Ellen Wilson Child Abuse Case and the Beginning of Children's Rights in 19th Century America , 2005. Susan J. Pearson, The Rights of the Defenseless: Protecting Animals and Children in Gilded Age America , 2011. Frank R. Ascione, Children and Animals: Exploring the Roots of Kindness and Cruelty , 2005. John E.B. Myers, Child Protection in America: Past, Present, and Future , 2006. Karel Kurst-Swanger and Jacqueline L. Petcosky, Violence in the Home: Multidisciplinary Perspectives , 2003. Mary Renck Jalongo, "The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson: Tracing the Origins of Child Protection in America," Early Childhood Education Journal 34:1 (August 2006), 1-4. Lela B. Costin, "Unraveling the Mary Ellen Legend: Origins of the 'Cruelty' Movement," Social Service Review 65:2 (June 1991), 203-223. Sallie A. Watkins, "The Mary Ellen Myth: Correcting Child Welfare History," Social Work 35:6 (November 1990), 500-503. Jini L. Roby, "Child Welfare Workers in the Legal Arena: What Works, What Doesn't," Child & Youth Care Forum 30:5 (October 2001), 305-319. John E.B. Myers, "A Short History of Child Protection in America," Family Law Quarterly 42:3 (Fall 2008), 449-463. Susan Vivian Mangold, "Protection, Privatization, and Profit in the Foster Care System," Ohio State Law Journal 60 (1999), 1295. Natan Sznaider, "Compassion and Control: Children in Civil Society," Childhood 4:2 (1997). Marian Eide, "The First Chapter of Children's Rights," American Heritage 41:5 (July/August 1990). Wanda Mohr, Richard J. Gelles, Ira M. Schwartz, "Shackled in the Land of Liberty: N
Mon, February 18, 2019
The Baseball Spy
Moe Berg earned his reputation as the brainiest man in baseball -- he had two Ivy League degrees and studied at the Sorbonne. But when World War II broke out he found an unlikely second career, as a spy trying to prevent the Nazis from getting an atomic bomb. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Berg's enigmatic life and its strange conclusion. We'll also consider the value of stripes and puzzle over a fateful accident. Intro: Johann David Steingruber devised floor plans in the shapes of letters . At least six of Felix Mendelssohn's songs were written by his sister Fanny . Sources for our feature on Moe Berg: Nicholas Dawidoff, The Catcher Was a Spy , 1994. Louis Kaufman, Barbara Fitzgerald, and Tom Sewell, Moe Berg: Athlete, Scholar, Spy , 1996. W. Thomas Smith, Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency , 2003. Glenn P. Hastedt, Spies, Wiretaps, and Secret Operations: An Encyclopedia of American Espionage , 2011. Nicholas Dawidoff, "The Fabled Moe," American Scholar 63:3 (Summer 1994), 433-439. Alan Owen Patterson, "The Eastern European Jewish Immigrant Experience With Baseball in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century," Modern Judaism 28:1 (February 2008), 79-104. "Morris 'Moe' Berg," Atomic Heritage Foundation (accessed Feb. 3, 2019). "'Moe' Berg: Sportsman, Scholar, Spy," Central Intelligence Agency, Jan. 17, 2013. Richard Sandomir, "Baseball Hall of Fame to Celebrate a Catcher (and a Spy)," New York Times , July 30, 2018. Bruce Fretts, "Who Was Moe Berg? A Spy, a Big-League Catcher and an Enigma," New York Times , June 21, 2018. Josh Pollick, "Moe Berg -- OK Player, Outstanding Individual," Jerusalem Post , Dec. 30, 2004, 11. "To Be a Spook," Justin Ewers, et al., U.S. News & World Report 134:3 (Jan. 27, 2003). Hal Bock, "A Catcher and a Spy -- Journeyman Backstop Was an Operative During WWII -- Moe Berg," Associated Press, June 25, 2000. Paul Schwartz, "Classic Look at Moe Berg, Catcher & Spy," New York Post , June 21, 2000, 68. "An Abstruse Topic Saved His Life," New York Times , March 21, 2000.
Mon, February 11, 2019
The Last Lap
In 1908 a 22-year-old Italian baker's assistant arrived in London to take part in the Olympic marathon. He had no coach, he spoke no English, and he was not expected to challenge the elite runners at the top of the field. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Dorando Pietri on the most celebrated race in Olympic history. We'll also ponder the Great Mull Air Mystery and puzzle over a welcome murder. Intro: In July 1968 ethologist John B. Calhoun built a paradise for mice . Mother Goose rhymes can be hidden phonetically in French and German . Sources for our feature on Dorando Pietri: David Davis, Showdown at Shepherd's Bush , 2012. Timothy D. Noakes, "Reduced Peripheral Resistance and Other Factors in Marathon Collapse," Sports Medicine 37:4–5 (April 2007) 382–385. Jonathan Esteve-Lanao, Alejandro Lucia, Jos J. deKoning, and Carl Foster, "How Do Humans Control Physiological Strain During Strenuous Endurance Exercise?" PLoS One 3:8 (August 2008), e2943. Tim Lincoln, "Mostly in the Mind," Nature 389:6654 (Oct. 30, 1997), 911-912. Karl Lennartz, "Some Case Studies on How Media Constructs Olympic Legends," Timisoara Physical Education and Rehabilitation Journal 2:3 (2009), 10-19. Markus Stauff, "The Pregnant-Moment Photograph: The 1908 London Marathon and the Cross-Media, Evaluation of Sport Performances," Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung 43:2 (2018), 203-219. Peter Lovesey, "Conan Doyle and the Olympics," Journal of Olympic History 10:10 (2001), 8. Mark Will-Weber, "Dorando Pietri," Runner's World 34:1 (January 1999), 42-43. International Olympic Committee, "Dorando Pietri" (accessed Jan. 27, 2019). "Dorando Pietri," Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia (accessed Jan. 27, 2019). Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Dorando Pietri: Falling at the Finish" (accessed Jan. 27, 2019). Simon Kuper, "The Original Olympic Hero," FT.com, July 27, 2012. "Marathon Men Were Games' Attraction," [Los Angeles] Daily News , July 22, 2012, C.1. "Italian Stumbles to Marathon Glory," Sunday Times , May 2
Mon, February 04, 2019
Leon Festinger and the Alien Apocalypse
In 1955, aliens from the planet Clarion contacted a Chicago housewife to warn her that the end of the world was imminent. Psychologist Leon Festinger saw this as a unique opportunity to test a new theory about human cognition. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow him inside a UFO religion as it approaches the apocalypse. We'll also try to determine when exactly LBJ became president and puzzle over some wet streets. Intro: There's a hexagon of cloud at Saturn's north pole. You're not as unpopular as you think you are. Sources for our feature on Leon Festinger: Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter, When Prophecy Fails , 1956. Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance , 1957. Joel Cooper, Cognitive Dissonance: Fifty Years of a Classic Theory , 2007. Camille Morvan with Alexander J. O'Connor, An Analysis of Leon Festinger's A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance , 2017. Leon Festinger, "Cognitive Dissonance," Scientific American 207:4 (October 1962), 93-106. Stanley Schachter, "Leon Festinger," Biographical Memoirs , Vol. 64, National Academy of Sciences, 1994. R.B. Zajonc, "Obituary: Leon Festinger (1919–1989)," American Psychologist 45:5 (1990), 661-662. Michael S. Gazzaniga, "Leon Festinger: Lunch With Leon," Perspectives on Psychological Science 1:1 (2006), 88-94. Elliot Aronson, "Leon Festinger and the Art of Audacity," Psychological Science 2:4 (July 1, 1991), 213-221. Serge Moscovici, "Obituary: Leon Festinger," European Journal of Social Psychology 19:4 (July 1989), 263-269. Dion Scott-Kakures, "Unsettling Questions: Cognitive Dissonance in Self-Deception," Social Theory and Practice 35:1 (January 2009), 73-106. Stephen Cox, "An Experiment in Apocalypse," Liberty 24:11 (December 2010) 17-22. Louisa C. Egan, Laurie R. Santos, and Paul Bloom, "The Origins of Cognitive Dissonance: Evidence From Children and Monkeys," Psychological Science 18:11 (November 2007), 978-983. Merton S. Krause, "An Analysis of Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory," Philosophy of Science 39:1 (March 1972), 32-50. Charles G. Lord, "Was Cognitive Dissonance Theory a Mistake?" Psychological Inquiry 3:4 (1992), 339-342.
Mon, January 28, 2019
The Dig Tree
In 1860 a party of explorers set out to traverse the Australian continent, but bad management and a series of misfortunes sent it spiraling toward tragedy. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Victorian Exploring Expedition and its dramatic climax at Cooper's Creek. We'll also try to validate Archimedes and puzzle over an unlucky thief. Intro: In 1990 Jon Perez Laraudogoitia wrote a philosophy article that compelled its own acceptance . In 1976 architect Robert Venturi found a way to commemorate a house with no surviving description . Sources for our story on the Burke and Wills expedition: Alan Moorehead, Cooper's Creek , 1963. Sarah P. Murgatroyd, The Dig Tree , 2002. Dave Phoenix, Following Burke and Wills Across Australia: A Touring Guide , 2015. Ian Clark and Fred Cahir, The Aboriginal Story of Burke and Wills: Forgotten Narratives , 2013. A.W. Howitt, et al., "Exploring Expedition From Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Under the Command of Mr. Robert O'Hara Burke," Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 32 (1862), 430-529. The Diary of William John Wills . William John Wills, A Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia: From Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria , 1863. Dave Phoenix, "Burke and Wills -- An Overview of the Expedition, Its Preparation, Planning and Outcomes," Queensland History Journal 21:8 (2012), 497. Jessica Campion, "Burke and Wills: Botany's Untold Success Story," Australian Geographic , July 27, 2011. Bernie Joyce and Doug McCann, "The Scientific Legacy of Burke & Wills," Australasian Science 32:5 (June 2011), 29-31. Sally Woollett, "Thiamine and the Dig Tree Tragedy," Chemistry in Australia 78:10 (November 2011), 4. John W. Earl and Barry V. McCleary, "Mystery of the Poisoned Expedition," Nature 368:6473 (April 21, 1994), 683. Deirdre Slattery, "If Burke Had Been a Naturalist ...: Telling and Re-Telling National Narratives," Australian Journal of Outdoor Education 8:2 (2004), 13-21. Peter
Mon, January 21, 2019
Flight to Freedom
In 1978 two families hatched a daring plan to escape East Germany: They would build a hot-air balloon and sail it by night across the border. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow their struggles to evade the authorities and realize their dream of a new life in the West. We'll also shuffle some vehicles and puzzle over a perplexing worker. Intro: In 1993 Tom Peyer and Hart Seely found that Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto's utterances can be cast as free verse . Jane Austen wrote three novels on a tiny table in her family's sitting room , subject to continual interruption. Sources for our story on the East German balloon escape: Jürgen Petschull, With the Wind to the West , 1980. John Dornberg, "Freedom Balloon," Popular Mechanics 153:2 (February 1980), 100-103, 150. Kate Connolly, "Film of Daring Balloon Escape From East Revives German Identity Debate," Guardian , Oct. 7, 2018. "Man Who Fled East Germany in a Homemade Balloon and Whose Story Was Made Into a Film Dies," Sunday Express , March 15, 2017. "Fleeing Communism in a Hot Air Balloon," BBC World Service, June 18, 2015. Donata Von Hardenberg, "Escaping the East by Any Means," McClatchy-Tribune Business News, Nov. 12, 2009. "Great Escapes," National Post , Nov. 7, 2009. Scott Dick, "Those Who Risked It All on a Flight to Freedom," Daily Telegraph , April 13, 2004. Alice Demetrius Stock, "Homemade Craft Made Daring Escape," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Aug. 3, 1995. Paul Martin, "The House at Checkpoint Charlie: A Little West Berlin Museum Celebrates the Ingenuity of Those Who Conquered the Wall," Chicago Tribune , Dec. 7, 1986. Victoria Pope, "Berlin Wall, 20 Years Later: People Still Try to Flee," Christian Science Monitor , Aug. 13, 1981. "East-West: The Great Balloon Escape," Time , Oct. 1, 1979. Michael Getler, "Harrowing Flight From East Germany," Washington Post , Sept. 28, 1979. <a href=
Mon, January 14, 2019
The Indomitable Spirit of Douglas Bader
Douglas Bader was beginning a promising career as a British fighter pilot when he lost both legs in a crash. But that didn't stop him -- he learned to use artificial legs and went on to become a top flying ace in World War II. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review Bader's inspiring story and the personal philosophy underlay it. We'll also revisit the year 536 and puzzle over the fate of a suitcase. Intro: In 1872 Celia Thaxter published an unsettling poem about an iceberg . In 193 the Praetorian Guard auctioned off the Roman empire . Sources for our story on Douglas Bader: Paul Brickhill, Reach for the Sky , 1954. S.P. Mackenzie, Bader's War , 2008. Andy Saunders, Bader's Last Fight , 2007. Joel Ralph, "Their Finest Hour," Canada's History 95:6 (December 2015/January 2016), 22-31. Paul Laib, "Bader, Sir Douglas Robert Steuart," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , May 19, 2011. A.W.G. English, "Psychology of Limb Loss," BMJ: British Medical Journal 299:6710 (Nov. 18, 1989), 1287. "Obituary," Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 130:5315 (October 1982), 750-751. The Douglas Bader Foundation. Neil Tweedie, "Tribute to a Very British Hero," Daily Telegraph , Aug. 10, 2001, 10. "Reaching for the Sky: Lady Bader Unveils Statue in Honour of Sir Douglas," Birmingham Post , Aug. 10, 2001, 6. "Who Really Shot Down Douglas Bader?" Daily Telegraph , Aug. 9, 2001, 23. Arifa Akbar, "In Memory of a Legendary Hero," [Darlington, UK] Northern Echo , Aug. 8, 2001, 8. "Sir Douglas Bader, Legless RAF Ace Who Shot Down 22 German Planes," Associated Press, Sept. 6, 1982, 1. "Sir Douglas Bader, World War II Ace," Associated Press, Sept. 5, 1982. Herbert Mitgang, "He Fought Sitting Down," New York Times , Nov. 17, 1957. "Legless British Pilot to Aid Veterans Here," New York Times , May 7, 1947. "Legless Air Hero Enters British Title Golf Event," New York Tim
Mon, January 07, 2019
The Halifax Explosion
In 1917, a munitions ship exploded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, devastating the city and shattering the lives of its citizens. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the events of the disaster, the largest man-made explosion before Hiroshima, and the grim and heroic stories of its victims. We'll also consider the dangers of cactus plugging and puzzle over why a man would agree to be assassinated. Intro: In 1989 an unmanned Soviet MiG-23 flew all the way from Poland to Belgium . In 1793 architect Sir James Hall fashioned a model of Westminster Abbey from rods of willow . Sources for our story on the Halifax explosion: John U. Bacon, The Great Halifax Explosion , 2017. Laura M. Mac Donald, Curse of the Narrows , 2005. Ken Cuthbertson, "The Horrors of the Halifax Explosion," Queen's Quarterly 125:4 (Winter 2018), 510-529. Joseph Scanlon, "Dealing With Mass Death After a Community Catastrophe: Handling Bodies After the 1917 Halifax Explosion," Disaster Prevention and Management 7:4 (1998), 288-304. Jesse N. Bradley, "The December 6, 1917, Halifax Explosion Was the Largest Man-Made Non-Nuclear Blast in History," Military History 19:5 (December 2002), 16. Chryssa N. McAlister et al., "The Halifax Disaster (1917): Eye Injuries and Their Care," British Journal of Ophthalmology , 91:6 (June 2007), 832-835. Meagan Campbell, "The Luckiest Man in Canada," Maclean's 130:2 (March 2017), 14-15. Marc Wortman, "A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion," Smithsonian.com, July 14, 2017. Canadian Encyclopedia, "Halifax Explosion" (accessed 12/24/2018). "Halifax Explosion," Nova Scotia Legislature (accessed 12/24/2018). Bertram Chambers, "Halifax Explosion," Naval Review 8 [1920], 445-457. https://books.google.com/books?id=oKtAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA445 "The Work of Rehabilitating Halifax," Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen's Magazine 64:2 (Jan. 15, 1918), 18. <a href=
Mon, December 24, 2018
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was contributed by listener Phil Moore. Here are two corroborating links . Puzzle #2 is from Jed's List of Situation Puzzles . Puzzle #3 is adapted from Edward J. Harshman's 1996 book Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Puzzle #4 is from Greg. Here's a link. Puzzle #5 was inspired by an item on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are two links . Puzzle #6 is from listener Dave Capozzi, who sent this link . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Google Podcasts , on Apple Podcasts , or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, December 17, 2018
The Stone of Destiny
In 1950, four patriotic Scots broke in to Westminster Abbey to steal the Stone of Scone, a symbol of Scottish independence that had lain there for 600 years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the memorable events of that evening and their meaning for the participants, their nation, and the United Kingdom. We'll also evade a death ray and puzzle over Santa's correspondence. Intro: In the 1920s Massachusetts mechanical engineer Elis Stenman fashioned a house out of pressed newspaper . Julijonas Urbonas' Euthanasia Coaster is designed to kill its riders . Sources for our story on the Stone of Scone: Ian Hamilton, The Taking of the Stone of Destiny , 1991. Warwick Rodwell, The Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone , 2013. Ian Hamilton, "How We Stole the Stone of Scone," Life , May 14, 1951, 141-153. Antonia Kearton, "Imagining the 'Mongrel Nation': Political Uses of History in the Recent Scottish Nationalist Movement," National Identities 7:1 (March 2005), 23-50. H.J. Hanham, "The Scottish Nation Faces the Post-Imperial World," International Journal 23:4 (December 1, 1968). "Stone of Scone Thief Questions," Times , Dec. 21, 2015, 8. Victoria Ward, "Stone of Scone 'Should Not Automatically Be Loaned to England for Next Coronation,'" Telegraph , Dec. 20, 2015. "Kay Matheson: Obituaries Teacher and Ardent Nationalist Who Helped 'Reclaim' the Stone of Scone From Westminster Abbey," Daily Telegraph , July 15, 2013, 25. "Woman Who Took Stone of Destiny Back to Scotland Dies," BBC News, July 8, 2013. Olga Craig, "Ian Hamilton on Stone of Destiny: I Felt I Was Holding Scotland's Soul," Telegraph , Dec. 14, 2008. Auslan Cramb, "Stone of Destiny Is Fake, Claims Alex Salmond," Telegraph , June 16, 2008. Gillian Bowditch, "Stone Reunion in Hamilton's Destiny," Sunday Times , Nov. 4, 2007, 5. "Obituary of Gavin Vernon," Daily Telegraph , March 26, 2004
Mon, December 10, 2018
The Children's Champion
Polish educator Janusz Korczak set out to remake the world just as it was falling apart. In the 1930s his Warsaw orphanage was an enlightened society run by the children themselves, but he struggled to keep that ideal alive as Europe descended into darkness. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the children's champion and his sacrifices for the orphans he loved. We'll also visit an incoherent space station and puzzle over why one woman needs two cars. Intro: Elbert Hubbard and his wife decided on a final gesture aboard the sinking Lusitania . E.E. Cummings dedicated his 1935 collection of poetry to the 14 publishing houses that rejected it . Sources for our story on Janusz Korczak: Betty Jean Lifton, The King of Children , 1988. Adir Cohen, The Gate of Light , 1994. E.P. Kulawiec, ed., The Warsaw Ghetto Memoirs of Janusz Korczak , 1979. Marc Silverman, A Pedagogy of Humanist Moral Education: The Educational Thought of Janusz Korczak , 2017. Susan J. Berger, "The Children's Advocate: Janusz Korczak," American Educational History Journal 33:2 (2006), 137-142. Robert Leiter, "For the Sake of Children," Jewish Exponent , April 6, 2000, 59. Liba H. Engel, "Does School Reform Have Legs? The Flourishing of Janusz Korczak's Pedagogy in Modern Israel," Educational Forum 68:2 (Winter 2004), 170-179. Reinhold Boschki, "Re-Reading Martin Buber and Janusz Korczak: Fresh Impulses Toward a Relational Approach to Religious Education," Religious Education 100:2 (Spring 2005), 114-126. Liba H. Engel, "Experiments in Democratic Education: Dewey's Lab School and Korczak's Children's Republic," Social Studies 99:3 (May/June 2008), 117-121. Robert Leiter, "'Who Is That Man?' In the End, He Was the Comforter of Lost Children," Jewish Exponent , June 10, 2004, 32. Daniel Feldman, "Honoring the Child's Right to Respect: Janusz Korczak as Holocaust Educator," The Lion and the Unicorn 40:2 (April 2016), 129-143. Martha J. Ignaszewski, Kevin Lichtenstein, and Maya Ignaszewski, "Dr. Janusz Korczak and His Legacy," British Columbia Medical Journal 55:2 (March 2013), 108-110. Gabriel Eichsteller, "Janusz Korczak -- His Legacy and Its Relevance for Children's Rights Today," International Journal of Children's Rights 17:3
Mon, December 03, 2018
The Christmas Tree Ship
In the late 1800s Chicago families bought their Christmas trees from the decks of schooners that had ferried them across Lake Michigan. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Herman Schuenemann, known as "Captain Santa," who brought Christmas to the city for 30 years until a fateful storm overtook him. We'll also peruse some possums and puzzle over a darkening phone. Intro: In 1991 a Yale physician proposed naming toes . No one's quite sure how cats navigate. Photo: Herman Schuenemann, center, with W.K. Vanaman, left, and a Mr. Colberg aboard a Christmas tree ship in the Chicago River, 1909. Sources for our story: Fred Neuschel, Lives & Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships , 2007. Larry Peterson, "The Legend of the Christmas Ship," Wisconsin Magazine of History 96:2 (Winter 2012/2013), 28-39. Glenn V. Longacre, "The Christmas Tree Ship," Prologue 38:4 (Winter 2006), 6-12. Shannon Marie Lange, Chicago Shipwrecks: Disasters and Their Impact on Maritime Law , dissertation, Southern New Hampshire University, 2017. Fred Neuschel, "Sailors as Entrepreneurs in a Great Lakes Maritime Village," Northern Mariner 8 (1998), 65-82. Fred Hollister, "Loss of the Christmas Tree Schooner," Sea Classics 39:5 (May 2006), 50-55. Amy Meyer, "Rouse Simmons Mystery Still Relevant," [Manitowoc, Wis.] Herald Times Reporter , Nov. 1, 2015. Kevin Collier, "Is 'Christmas Tree Ship' a Ghost of Christmas Past?" TCA Regional News, Dec. 22, 2014. "Lake Michigan Almost Canceled Christmas," Battle Creek [Mich.] Enquirer , Nov. 30, 2014. Doug Moe, "Film Tells Tale of Christmas Tree Ship," Wisconsin State Journal , Nov. 29, 2013. John Gurda, "'Christmas Tree Ship' Went Down on the Lake 100 Years Ago," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Dec. 1, 2012. Meg Jones, "Events Mark 100 Year Anniversary of Sinking of Christmas Tree Ship," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Nov. 22, 201
Mon, November 26, 2018
The Great Match Race
America's first national sports spectacle took place in 1823, when the North and South sent their best horses for a single dramatic race that came to symbolize the regional tensions of a changing nation. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Great Match Race, which laid the foundations of modern American thoroughbred racing. We'll also ponder a parasite's contribution to culture and puzzle over a misinformed criminal. Intro: Quentin Tarantino's cast and crew left greetings to his editor in their work. The first subject in Anton Reicha's Fugue No. 18 is a single note repeated 34 times . Sources for our feature on the Great Match Race: John Eisenberg, The Great Match Race , 2006. Nancy L. Struna, "The North-South Races: American Thoroughbred Racing in Transition, 1823-1850," Journal of Sport History 8:2 (Summer 1981), 28-57. Paul E. Johnson, "Northern Horse: American Eclipse as a Representative New Yorker," Journal of the Early Republic 33:4 (Winter 2013), 701-726. Katherine Carmines Mooney, Race Horse Men: Slavery and Freedom at the Nineteenth-Century Racetrack , dissertation, Yale University, 2012. Richard Nash, "Joy and Pity: Reading Animal Bodies in Late Eighteenth-Century Culture," Eighteenth Century 52:1 (Spring 2011), 47-67. Michael S. Rosenwald, "Before Justify, There Was Eclipse and a Horse-Racing War Between North And South," Washington Post , May 19, 2018. Oswald West, "Famous Horses and Horsemen of the Pioneer Period," Oregon Historical Quarterly 46:2 (June 1945), 140-155. C.C. Colden, "The Great Match Race Between Eclipse and Sir Henry," Frank Forester's Horse and Horsemanship , 1857, 184-194. Max Farrand, "The Great Race -- Eclipse Against the World!" Scribner's Magazine 70:4 (October 1921), 457-464. "The Match Race," The Port Folio 16:255 (July 1823), 81-83. W.E. Beard, "The War
Mon, November 19, 2018
The Great Stork Derby
When Toronto attorney Charles Vance Millar died in 1926, he left behind a mischievous will that promised a fortune to the woman who gave birth to the most children in the next 10 years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Great Stork Derby and the hope and controversy it brought to Toronto's largest families during the Great Depression. We'll also visit some Portuguese bats and puzzle over a suspicious work crew. Intro: The programming language Shakespeare produces code that reads like a stage play . In a qualification round for the 1994 Caribbean Cup, Barbados and Grenada seemed to switch sides . Sources for our feature on the Great Stork Derby: Mark M. Orkin, The Great Stork Derby , 1982. In Re Estate of Charles Millar (1937) , [1938] 1 D.L.R. 65 (Supreme Court of Canada). Chris Bateman, "Historicist: The Great Stork Derby," Torontoist, Oct. 29, 2016. David Goldenberg, "How a Dead Millionaire Convinced Dozens of Women to Have as Many Babies as Possible," Five Thirty Eight, Dec. 11, 2015. Adam Bunch, "The Great Toronto Stork Derby — Why the City Went Baby Crazy During the Great Depression," Spacing Magazine , July 23, 2013. Steuart Henderson Britt, "The Significance of the Last Will and Testament," Journal of Social Psychology 8:3 (August 1937), 347-353. Peter Edwards, "1926 Will Sparked Toronto's Great 'Stork Derby,'" Toronto Star , Sept. 9, 2006. "Big Family, Big Prize," Philippine Daily Inquirer , Jan. 17, 2002. Douglas J. Johnston, "Will Power," The Beaver 81:4 (August/September 2001), 37-39. Marty Gervais, "Stork Derby of '26 Meant to Tweak Beaks of Clergy," Windsor Star , June 23, 2000. Craig Zawada, "Dumb Moments in Legal History," Saskatchewan Business 20:6 (Nov. 1, 1999), 7. Pat MacAdam, "The Mischievous Will: Toronto the Good Left Shaken by Staid Lawyer's Quirky Last Wishes," Ottawa Citizen , Aug. 2, 1999. John Pic
Mon, November 12, 2018
Lady Death
Lyudmila Pavlichenko was training for a career as a history teacher when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. She suspended her studies to enlist as a sniper in the Red Army, where she discovered a remarkable talent for shooting enemy soldiers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of "Lady Death," the deadliest female sniper in history. We'll also learn where in the world futility.closet.podcast is and puzzle over Air Force One. Intro: Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes creates a host of puzzles in the philosophy of art . German architect Herman Sörgel wanted to dam the Congo to create two African seas . Sources for our feature on Lyudmila Pavlichenko: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper , 2018. Roger Reese, "Soviet Women at War," Military History 28:1 (May 2011), 44-53,5. Drew Lindsay, "Why Not Send Women to War?" MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 25:3 (Spring 2013), 50-55, 58-61. Karl E. Friedl, "Biases of the Incumbents: What If We Were Integrating Men Into a Women's Army?" Military Review 96:2 (March/April 2016), 69-75. Jonathan W. Jordan, "Master of the Long Rifle," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 18:4 (Summer 2006), 49-53. D'Ann Campbell, "Women in Combat: The World War II Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union," Journal of Military History 57:2 (April 1993), 301-323. E.M. Tenney, "Mrs. Roosevelt, the Russian Sniper, and Me," American Heritage 43:2 (April 1992), 28. John Kass, "This Soldier's Skill Had Nothing to Do With Gender," Chicago Tribune , Jan. 25, 2013. Peter Sheridan, "Meet Lady Death: The Deadliest Female Sniper That Ever Lived," Express , Feb. 5, 2018. Marea Donnelly, "'Lady Death' Sniper Made 309 Kills After Young Comrade Shot," Daily Telegraph , July 12, 2016, 23. Gilbert King, "Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper," Smithsonian.com, Feb. 21, 2013. Alex Lockie, "Meet the World's Deadliest Female Sniper Who Terrorized Hitler's Nazi Army," Independent , March 18, 2018. "Soviet Girl Sniper Learned to Shoot as University Co-E
Mon, November 05, 2018
The Prince of Forgers
Denis Vrain-Lucas was an undistinguished forger until he met gullible collector Michel Chasles. Through the 1860s Lucas sold Chasles thousands of phony letters by everyone from Plato to Louis the 14th, earning thousands of francs and touching off a firestorm among confused scholars. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of the world's most prolific forger. We'll also count Queen Elizabeth's eggs and puzzle over a destroyed car. Intro: In 2011 Australian architect Horst Kiechle sculpted a human torso from paper . English historian Thomas Birch went angling dressed as a tree . Sources for our feature on Denis Vrain-Lucas: Joseph Rosenblum, Prince of Forgers , 1998. Michael Farquhar, A Treasury of Deception , 2005. John Whitehead, This Solemn Mockery , 1973. James Anson Farrer, Literary Forgeries , 1907. Rebekah Higgitt, " 'Newton Dépossédé!' The British Response to the Pascal Forgeries of 1867," British Journal for the History of Science 36:131 (December 2003), 437-453. Stephen Ornes, "Descartes' Decipherer," Nature 483:7391 (March 29, 2012), 540. R.A. Rosenbaum, "Michel Chasles and the Forged Autograph Letters," Mathematics Teacher 52:5 (May 1959), 365-366. Ken Alder, "History's Greatest Forger: Science, Fiction, and Fraud along the Seine," Critical Inquiry 30:4 (2004), 702-716. Bruce Whiteman, "Practice to Deceive: The Amazing Stories of Literary Forgery's Most Notorious Practitioners, by Joseph Rosenblum," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 39:1 (2001). "Missives Impossible: Fake News Is Nothing New -- Even Isaac Newton Was a Victim, Says Stephen Ornes," New Scientist 236:3157/3158 (Dec. 23, 2017), 76-77. Steve Kemper, "Signs of the Times," Smithsonian 28:8 (November 1997), 134-140. Cullen Murphy, "Knock It Off," Atlantic Monthly 294:5 (December 2004), 187-188. Paul Gray, "Fakes That Have Skewed History," Time 121:20 (May 16, 1983), 58-61 Matthew Adams, "Archivist Talks About History of Forgery," University Wire, Oct. 24, 2014. Charles Whibley, "Of Literary Forgers," Cornhill Magazine 12:71 (May 1902), 624-636. <a href= "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1907-08-13/ed-1/seq-12/#date1=
Mon, October 29, 2018
The Year Without a Summer
The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was a disaster for the Dutch East Indies, but its astonishing consequences were felt around the world, blocking the sun and bringing cold, famine, and disease to millions of people from China to the United States. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the volcano's devastating effects and surprising legacy. We'll also appreciate an inverted aircraft and puzzle over a resourceful barber. Intro: The Veterinary Record addressed an overlooked species in 1972. Goats like towers. Map: The 1816 summer temperature anomaly (°C) with respect to 1971-2000 climatology ( data source ). Sources for our feature on the Tambora eruption: Gillen D'Arcy Wood, Tambora , 2014. William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, The Year Without a Summer , 2013. Angus M. Gunn, Encyclopedia of Disasters , 2008. Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, Volcanoes in Human History , 2012. Jihong Cole-Dai et al. "Cold Decade (AD 1810–1819) Caused by Tambora (1815) and Another (1809) Stratospheric Volcanic Eruption," Geophysical Research Letters 36:22 (November 2009). Clive Oppenheimer, "Climatic, Environmental and Human Consequences of the Largest Known Historic Eruption: Tambora Volcano (Indonesia) 1815," Progress in Physical Geography 27:2 (2003), 230-259. Bernice de Jong Boers, "Mount Tambora in 1815: A Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia and Its Aftermath," Indonesia 60 (October 1995), 37-60. Chaochao Gao et al., "Climatic Aftermath of the 1815 Tambora Eruption in China," Journal of Meteorological Research 31:1 (February 2017), 28-38. Richard B. Stothers, "The Great Tambora Eruption in 1815 and its Aftermath," Science , New Series 224:4654 (June 15, 1984), 1191-1198. Shuji Cao, Yushang Li, and Bin Yang, "Mt. Tambora, Climatic Changes, and China's Decline in the Nineteenth Century," Journal of World History 23:3 (September 2012), 587-607. Gillen D'Arcy Wood, "The Volcano Lover: Climate, Colonialism, and the Slave Trade in Raffles's History of Java (1817)," Journal for Early Modern Cul
Mon, October 22, 2018
The Mystery Man of Essex County
In 1882, a mysterious man using a false name married and murdered a well-to-do widow in Essex County, New York. While awaiting the gallows he composed poems, an autobiography, and six enigmatic cryptograms that have never been solved. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the strange case of Henry Debosnys, whose true identity remains a mystery. We'll also consider children's food choices and puzzle over a surprising footrace. Intro: In 1972 two Canadian scientists set out to figure the number of monsters in Loch Ness . Winston Churchill's country home must always maintain a marmalade cat named Jock. Sources for our feature on Henry Debosnys: Cheri L. Farnsworth, Adirondack Enigma , 2010. Craig P. Bauer, Unsolved! , 2017. George Levi Brown, Pleasant Valley: A History of Elizabethtown, Essex County , New York, 1905. Caroline Halstead Barton Royce, Bessboro: A History of Westport, Essex Co., N.Y. , 1902. "Debosnys Ciphers," The Cipher Foundation (accessed Oct. 7, 2018). Craig P. Bauer, "When Killers Leave Ciphers," history.com, Nov. 14, 2017. Nick Pelling, "Henry Debosnys and the Cimbria ... ?" Cipher Mysteries, Nov. 16, 2015. Nick Pelling, "Thoughts on the Debosnys Ciphers ..." Cipher Mysteries, Nov. 7, 2015. Nick Pelling, "The Person Not on the S.S.Cimbria ..." Cipher Mysteries, Nov. 17, 2015. "Guilty of Wife Murder," [Washington D.C.] National Republican , March 8, 1883. "Hangman's Day," [Wilmington, Del.] Daily Republican , A
Mon, October 08, 2018
The Old Hero of Gettysburg
In 1863, on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, a 69-year-old shoemaker took down his ancient musket and set out to shoot some rebels. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow John Burns' adventures in that historic battle, which made him famous across the nation and won the praise of Abraham Lincoln. We'll also survey some wallabies and puzzle over some underlined 7s. Intro: Alberta has no rats. In a 1963 travel book, Ian Fleming gives James Bond's recipe for scrambled eggs . Sources for our feature on John Burns: Timothy H. Smith, John Burns , 2000. Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day , 2011. Tom Huntington, "Out to Shoot Some 'Damned Rebels,'" America's Civil War 21:3 (July 2008), 46-49. Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi, "Why JEB Stuart Was Too Late," Civil War Times 46:1 (February 2007), 30-37. Robert L. Bloom, "'We Never Expected a Battle': The Civilians at Gettysburg, 1863," Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 55:4 (October 1988), 161-200. Robert Fortenbaugh, "Lincoln as Gettysburg Saw Him," Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 14:1 (January 1947), 1-12. George T. Ness Jr., "Wisconsin at West Point: Her Graduates Through the Civil War Period," Wisconsin Magazine of History 25:2 (December 1941), 210-216. James W. Wensyel, "Tales of a Gettysburg Guide," American Heritage 45:2 (April 1994), 104. "Letters," Civil War Times 56:4 (August 2017), 6. Luther William Minnigh, Gettysburg: What They Did There , 1912. Samuel Penniman Bates, The Battle of Gettysburg , 1875. "The Field of Gettysburg," Ocala [Fla.] Evening Star , Dec. 6, 1920. "The Field of Gettysburg," Caldwell [Idaho] Tribune , Dec. 26, 1908. <a href= "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016187/189
Mon, October 01, 2018
The Greenbrier Ghost
In 1897, shortly after Zona Shue was found dead in her West Virginia home, her mother went to the county prosecutor with a bizarre story. She said that her daughter had been murdered -- and that her ghost had revealed the killer's identity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Greenbrier Ghost, one of the strangest courtroom dramas of the 19th century. We'll also consider whether cats are controlling us and puzzle over a delightful oblivion. Intro: Anagrams, a palindrome, and a letter bank regarding American presidents. A crossword without clues, by Lee Sallows. Mary Jane Heaster, Zona's mother. Sources for our feature on the Greenbrier Ghost: Katie Letcher Lyle, The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives , 1986. "The Greenbrier Ghost," West Virginia Division of Culture and History (accessed Sept. 22, 2018). David Jenkins, "Common Law, Mountain Music, and the Construction of Community Identity," Social & Legal Studies 19:3 (September 2010), 351-369. Joel Ebert, "Trials in High Profile," Charleston [W.V.] Sunday Gazette-Mail , Oct. 11, 2015, A.1. Joel Ebert, "Blankenship's Just One of Many High-Profile Trials in WV History," TCA Regional News , Oct. 11, 2015. Sandi Toksvig, "Ghosts Obviously Have Their Downsides, But at Least They Make Life Interesting," Sunday Telegraph , Jan. 23, 2011, 5. Mike Conley, "Ghost Brings Murderer to Justice," Marion [N.C.] McDowell News , Aug. 27, 2009. Allison Barker, "Courthouse Old Enough to Have Ghost in Its History," Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail , March 9, 2003, 2B. Chris Stirewalt, "A Haunting Halloween," Charleston Daily Mail , Oct. 31, 2002, 1C. Michelle Saxton, "West Virginia's Hills Are Home to Ghostly Tales," Charleston Gazette , Oct. 30, 2000, 7A. Marina Hendricks, "Retelling a Greenbrier Ghost Tale," Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail , Oct. 31. 1999, 1E. "Trial of Trout Shue," The Bar 11:2 (February 1904). <a href= "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84037217/1897-02-25/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1789&index=0&rows=20&words=Shue+Zona&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=zona+shu
Mon, September 24, 2018
Lost in the Amazon
In 1769, a Peruvian noblewoman set out with 41 companions to join her husband in French Guiana. But a series of terrible misfortunes left her alone in the Amazon jungle. In this week's episode we'll follow Isabel Godin des Odonais on her harrowing adventure in the rain forest. We'll also learn where in the world "prices slippery traps" is and puzzle over an airport's ingenuity. Intro: In 1949 neurophysiologist Grey Walter built electronic "tortoises" with primitive nervous systems. In 1952 G.V. Carey added an index to his manual of indexing . Sources for our feature on Isabel Godin des Odonais: Anthony Smith, The Lost Lady of the Amazon , 2003. Robert Whitaker, The Mapmaker's Wife , 2004. Jean Godin, "Voyage of Madame Godin Along the River of the Amazons, in the Year 1770," in Charlotte-Adélaïde Dard et al., Perils and Captivity , 1827. Larrie D. Ferreiro, Measure of the Earth , 2011. Edward Julius Goodman, The Explorers of South America , 1992. Londa L. Schiebinger, Plants and Empire , 2009. J. Donald Fernie, "Marginalia: The Shape of the Earth, Part II," American Scientist 79:5 (September/October 1991), 393-395. Donald D. Brand, "A Brief History of Anthropology in Brazil," New Mexico Anthropologist 5:4 (October-December 1941), 99-150. David Taylor, "An Adventure of Historic Measures," Americas 50:6 (November/December 1998), 14-21. James Grant Wilson and John Fiske, Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography , 1898. Edwin McDowell, "The Middle of the World," New York Times , Nov. 25, 1990. "First Woman Over Andes," New York Times , Nov. 5, 1922. Henri Froidevaux, "Documents Inédits sur Godin des Odonais et sur Son Séjour a la Guyane," Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris I , 1896. "An Account of the Singular Misfortunes of Madame Godin, in a Voyage Which She
Mon, September 17, 2018
The Bone Wars
The end of the Civil War opened a new era of fossil hunting in the American West -- and a bitter feud between two rival paleontologists, who spent 20 years sabotaging one another in a constant struggle for supremacy. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Bone Wars, the greatest scientific feud of the 19th century. We'll also sympathize with Scunthorpe and puzzle over why a driver can't drive. Intro: Nepal's constitution contains instructions for drawing its flag . The tombstone of Constanze Mozart's second husband calls him "the husband of Mozart's widow." Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. Sources for our feature on the Bone Wars: David Rains Wallace, The Bonehunters' Revenge , 1999. Mark Jaffe, The Gilded Dinosaur , 2000. Elizabeth Noble Shor, The Fossil Feud , 1974. Hal Hellman, Great Feuds in Science , 1998. Tom Huntington, "The Great Feud," American History 33:3 (August 1998), 14. Richard A. Kissel, "The Sauropod Chronicles," Natural History 116:3 (April 2007), 34-38. Keith Stewart Thomson, "Marginalia: Dinosaurs as a Cultural Phenomenon," American Scientist 93:3 (May-June 2005), 212-214. Genevieve Rajewski, "Where Dinosaurs Roamed," Smithsonian 39:2 (May 2008), 20-24. James Penick Jr., "Professor Cope vs. Professor Marsh," American Heritage 22:5 (August 1971). Alfred S. Romer, "Cope versus Marsh," Systematic Zoology 13:4 (December 1964), 201-207. Renee Clary, James Wandersee, and Amy Carpinelli, "The Great Dinosaur Feud: Science Against All Odds," Science Scope 32:2 (October 2008), 34-40. Susan West, "Dinosaur Head Hunt," Science News 116:18 (Nov. 3, 1979), 314-315. P.D. Brinkman, "Edward Drinker Cope's Final Feud," Archives of Natural History 43:2 (October 2016), 305-320. Eric J. Hilton, Joseph C. Mitchell and David G. Smith, "Edward Drinker Cope (1840–1897): Naturalist, Namesake, Icon," Copeia 2014:4 (December 2014), 747-761. John Koster, "Good to the Old Bones: Dreaming of Dinosaurs, Digging for Dollars," Wild West 25:2 (August 2012), 26-27. Daniel Engber, <a href= "http://www.slate.com/articles/business/rivalries/2013/08/dinosaur_bone_wars_othniel_charles_marsh_e
Mon, September 10, 2018
The Tromelin Island Castaways
In 1761 a French schooner was shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean, leaving more than 200 people stranded on a tiny island. The crew departed in a makeshift boat, leaving 60 Malagasy slaves to fend for themselves and wait for rescue. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Tromelin Island castaways, which one observer calls "arguably the most extraordinary story of survival ever documented." We'll also admire some hardworking cats and puzzle over a racer's death. Intro: In 1830 architect Thomas Willson proposed building an enormous pyramid to house London's dead . In 1959 a Norwegian insulation manufacturer undertook to transport a three-ton block of ice to the equator without refrigeration. Sources for our feature on the Tromelin Island castaways: Samir S. Patel, "Castaways," Archaeology , Sept. 15, 2014. "Lèse humanité," Economist , Dec. 16, 2015. Max Guérout, "Esclaves oubliés," La Revue Maritime 477 (December 2006). John Lichfield, "Shipwrecked and Abandoned: The Story of the Slave Crusoes," Independent , Feb. 5, 2007. James Russell, "The Recovery of Tromelin Island," National Geographic , April 11, 2016. V. Laroulandie and C. Lefèvre, "The Use of Avian Resources by the Forgotten Slaves of Tromelin Island (Indian Ocean)," International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 24:3 (2014), 407-416. Matthieu Le Corre, et al. "Seabird Recovery and Vegetation Dynamics After Norway Rat Eradication at Tromelin Island, Western Indian Ocean," Biological Conservation 185 (2015), 85-94. Nick Marriner et al., "A Geomorphological Reconnaissance of Tromelin Island, Indian Ocean," Journal of Coastal Research 28:6 (November 2012), 1606-1616. Urko Apaolaza Ávila, "Basques in the Caribbean Slave Trade (Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries)," in William A. Douglass, ed., Basques in Cuba , 2016. Jane Webster, "Slave Ships and Maritime Archaeology: An Overview," International Journal of Historical Archaeology 12:1 (March 2008), 6–19. Annabelle Geor
Mon, September 03, 2018
The Lieutenant Nun
In 1607, a 15-year-old girl fled her convent in the Basque country, dressed herself as a man, and set out on a series of unlikely adventures across Europe. In time she would distinguish herself fighting as a soldier in Spain's wars of conquest in the New World. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Catalina de Erauso, the lieutenant nun of Renaissance Spain. We'll also hunt for some wallabies and puzzle over a quiet cat. Intro: In 1856 the Saturday Review asked: Why do ghosts wear clothes? Because of the peculiarities of bee reproduction, the population of each generation is a Fibonacci number . Sources for our feature on Catalina de Erauso: Joaquín María de Ferrer, The Autobiography of doña Catalina de Erauso , 1918 (translated by Dan Harvey Pedrick). Heidi Zogbaum, Catalina de Erauso: The Lieutenant Nun and the Conquest of the New World , 2015. Sonia Pérez-Villanueva, The Life of Catalina de Erauso, the Lieutenant Nun: An Early Modern Autobiography , 2014. Eva Mendieta, In Search of Catalina de Erauso: The National and Sexual Identity of the Lieutenant Nun , 2009. Sherry Velasco, The Lieutenant Nun: Transgenderism, Lesbian Desire, and Catalina de Erauso , 2000. Robin Cross and Rosalind Miles, Warrior Women: 3000 Years of Courage and Heroism , 2011. Christel Mouchard, Women Travelers: A Century of Trailblazing Adventures 1850-1950, 2007. Faith S. Harden, "Military Labour and Martial Honour in the Vida de la Monja Alférez, Catalina de Erauso," Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 94:2 (2017), 147-162. Madera Gabriela Allan, "'Un Hombre Sin Barbas': The Transgender Protagonist of La Monja Alférez (1626)," Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 17:2 (June 2016), 119-131. Sonia Pérez Villanueva, "Vida y sucesos de la Monja Alférez: Spanish Dictatorship, Basque Identity, and the Political Tug-of-War Over a Popular Heroine," Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 83:4 (2006), 337-347. Matthew Goldmark, "Reading Habits: Catalina de Erauso and the Subjects of Early Modern Spanish Gender and Sexuality," Colonial Latin American Review 24:2 (June 2015), 215-235. Mary Elizabeth Perry, "The Manly Woman: A Historical Case Study," American Behavioral Sc
Mon, August 27, 2018
The Poison Squad
In 1902, chemist Harvey Wiley launched a unique experiment to test the safety of food additives. He recruited a group of young men and fed them meals laced with chemicals to see what the effects might be. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Wiley's "poison squad" and his lifelong crusade for food safety. We'll also follow some garden paths and puzzle over some unwelcome weight-loss news. Intro: In 1887, an inadvertent dot in a telegram cost wool dealer Frank Primrose $20,000 . For 25 years, two Minnesota brothers-in-law exchanged a weaponized pair of moleskin pants . Harvey Washington Wiley's poison squad dined in formal clothing and wrote their own inspirational slogan. Sources for our feature: Bernard A. Weisberger, "Doctor Wiley and His Poison Squad," American Heritage 47:1 (February/March 1996). Oscar E. Anderson Jr., The Health of a Nation: Harvey W. Wiley and the Fight for Pure Food , 1958. Paul M. Wax, "Elixirs, Diluents, and the Passage of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act," Annals of Internal Medicine 122:6 (March 15, 1995), 456-461. James Harvey Young, "Food and Drug Regulation Under the USDA, 1906-1940," Agricultural History 64:2 (Spring 1990), 134-142. Cornelius C. Regier, "The Struggle for Federal Food and Drugs Legislation," Law and Contemporary Problems 1:1 (December 1933), 3-15. Donna J. Wood, "The Strategic Use of Public Policy: Business Support for the 1906 Food and Drug Act," Business History Review 59:3 (Autumn 1985), 403-432. E. Pendleton Herring, "The Balance of Social Forces in the Administration of the Pure Food and Drug Act," Social Forces 13:3 (March 1935), 358-366. Carol Lewis and Suzanne White Junod, "The 'Poison Squad' and the Advent of Food and Drug Regulation," FDA Consumer 36:6 (November-December 2002), 12-15. Mike Oppenheim, "Food Fight," American History 53:4 (October 2018), 68. Bette Hileman, "'
Mon, August 20, 2018
Grover Cleveland's Secret Surgery
In 1893, Grover Cleveland discovered a cancerous tumor on the roof of his mouth. It was feared that public knowledge of the president's illness might set off a financial panic, so Cleveland suggested a daring plan: a secret surgery aboard a moving yacht. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the president's gamble -- and the courageous reporter who threatened to expose it. We'll also audit some wallabies and puzzle over some welcome neo-Nazis. Intro: Robert Louis Stevenson inadvertently borrowed much of Treasure Island from Washington Irving . When Graeme Gibson donated his parrot to the Toronto Zoo, it suddenly called after him . Sources for our feature on Grover Cleveland's secret surgery: Matthew Algeo, The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth , 2011. William Williams Keen, The Surgical Operations on President Cleveland in 1893 , 1917. Shahid R. Aziz, "The Oral Surgical Operations of Grover Cleveland: A Presidential Cover-Up," Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 53:9 (1995), 1088-1090. W.O. Fenn et al., "Dr. Joseph Bryant's Role in President Grover Cleveland's Secret Anesthesia and Surgery," Anesthesiology 119:4 (October 2013), 889. "The Secret Operation on President Cleveland," British Medical Journal 1:3568 (May 25, 1929), 965. Ronald H. Spiro, "Verrucous Carcinoma, Then and Now," American Journal of Surgery 176:5 (1998), 393-397. Andrew Renehan and J.C. Lowry, "The Oral Tumours of Two American Presidents: What If They Were Alive Today?" , Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 88:7 (1995), 377. Philip H. Cooper, "President Cleveland's Palatal Tumor," Archives of Dermatology 122:7 (1986), 747-748. Richard L. Rovit and William T. Couldwell, "A Man for All Seasons: WW Keen," Neurosurgery 50:1 (2002), 181-190. "Without Prejudice," British Medical Journal</
Mon, August 13, 2018
The Lost Treasure of Cocos Island
Cocos Island, in the eastern Pacific, was rumored to hold buried treasure worth millions of dollars, but centuries of treasure seekers had failed to find it. That didn't deter August Gissler, who arrived in 1889 with a borrowed map and an iron determination. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Gissler's obsessive hunt for the Treasure of Lima. We'll also marvel at the complexity of names and puzzle over an undead corpse. Intro: In 1875, Frederick Law Olmsted warned his son of the dangers of unchecked pussycats . Dogs were formerly so common at church services that "dog whippers" were employed to manage them . Sources for our feature on August Gissler: Ralph Hancock and Julian A. Weston, The Lost Treasure of Cocos Island , 1960. John Chetwood, Our Search for the Missing Millions of Cocos Island: Being an Account of a Curious Cruise and a More Than Curious Character , 1904. Hervey De Montmorency, On the Track of a Treasure: The Story of an Adventurous Expedition to the Pacific Island of Cocos in Search of Treasure of Untold Value Hidden by Pirates , 1904. Theon Wright, The Voyage of the Herman , 1966. David McIntee, Fortune and Glory: A Treasure Hunter's Handbook , 2016. Alex Capus, Sailing by Starlight: In Search of Treasure Island , 2013. Judith Schalansky, Atlas of Remote Islands , 2010. Alban Stewart, "Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905-1906: V. Notes on the Botany of Cocos Island," Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences , Fourth Series, Vol. 1, Jan. 19, 1912, 375-404. Laws of the American Republics Relating to Immigration and the Sale of Public Lands: Costa Rica , United States Congressional Serial Set, Issue 2, 1892. Maarten Kappelle, Costa Rican Ecosystems , 2016. "Gold of Cocos Not for Them," San Francisco Call , Oct. 14, 1901. <a href= "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016014/1902-08-04/ed-1/se
Mon, August 06, 2018
Cast Away on an Ice Floe
Germany's polar expedition of 1869 took a dramatic turn when 14 men were shipwrecked on an ice floe off the eastern coast of Greenland. As the frozen island carried them slowly toward settlements in the south, it began to break apart beneath them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the crew of the Hansa on their desperate journey toward civilization. We'll also honor a slime mold and puzzle over a reversing sunset. Intro: The yellow-bellied longclaw, Macronyx flavigaster , could produce the long-sought 10×10 word square. Bruckner's seventh symphony has made generations of cymbalists nervous. A ground plan of the " Hansa house," from expedition commander Karl Koldewey's 1874 narrative. Sources for our feature on the Hansa: Fergus Fleming, Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole , 2007. William James Mills, Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia , 2003. David Thomas Murphy, German Exploration of the Polar World: A History, 1870-1940 , 2002. Karl Koldewey, The German Arctic Expedition of 1869-70: And Narrative of the Wreck of the "Hansa" in the Ice , 1874. "The 'Polaris' Arctic Expedition," Nature 8:194 (July 17, 1873), 217-220. "The Second German Arctic Expedition," Nature 11:265 (Nov. 26, 1874), 63-66. "The Latest Arctic Explorations -- The Remarkable Escape of the Polaris Party," Scientific American 28:23 (June 7, 1873), 352-353. Leopold M'Clintock, "Resumé of the Recent German Expedition, from the Reports of Captain Koldewey and Dr. Laube," Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London 15:2 (1870-1871), 102-114. William Barr, "Background to Captain Hegemann's Account of the Voyage of Hansa and of the Ice-Drift," Polar Geography and Geology 17:4 (1993), 259-263. "The Polaris," Report to the Secretary of the Navy, Executive Documents, First Session, 43rd Congress, 1873-1874, 12-627. Fridtjof Nansen, <a href= "https://bo
Mon, July 23, 2018
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was contributed by listener Amy Howard. Puzzle #2 was suggested by an item on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are some corroborating links: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Puzzle #3 was inspired by an item in Jerry Clark and Ed Palattella's 2015 book A History of Heists , and here's a link . Puzzle #4 was devised by Sharon. Here are two links ; note that both contain some nudity. Puzzle #5 is from listener Justin Sabe, who was inspired by an item on the podcast 99% Invisible. Puzzle #6 is from listener Sam Dyck, who sent these links . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futilit
Mon, July 16, 2018
Lost Off Newfoundland
In 1883 fisherman Howard Blackburn was caught in a blizzard off the coast of Newfoundland. Facing bitter cold in an 18-foot boat, he passed through a series of harrowing adventures in a desperate struggle to stay alive and find help. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Blackburn's dramatic story, which made him famous around the world. We'll also admire a runaway chicken and puzzle over a growing circle of dust. Intro: During Oxfordshire's annual stag hunt in 1819, the quarry took refuge in a chapel . With the introduction of electric light, some American cities erected "moonlight towers." Sources for our feature on Howard Blackburn: Joseph E. Garland, Lone Voyager: The Extraordinary Adventures of Howard Blackburn, Hero Fisherman of Gloucester , 1963. Louis Arthur Norton, "The Hero of Gloucester," American History 35:5 (December 2000), 22. "The Terrible Odyssey of Howard Blackburn," American Heritage 33:2 (February/March 1982). Peter Nielsen, "Howard Blackburn: Heroism at Sea," Sail , July 31, 2017. Matthew McKenzie, "Iconic Fishermen and the Fates of New England Fisheries Regulations, 1883-1912," Environmental History 17:1 (January 2012), 3-28. R. Guy Pulvertaft, "Psychological Aspects of Hand Injuries," Hand 7:2 (April 1, 1975), 93-103. Paul Raymond Provost, "Winslow Homer's 'The Fog Warning': The Fisherman as Heroic Character," American Art Journal 22:1 (Spring 1990), 20-27. "Ask the Globe," Boston Globe , Jan. 24, 2000, B8. Michael Carlson, "Obituary: Joseph Garland: Voice of Gloucester, Massachusetts," Guardian , Oct. 6, 2011, 46. Larry Johnston, "During a Struggle to Survive '83 Blizzard, a Sailor Becomes a Hero," Florida Today , June 21, 2006, E.1. Herbert D. Ward, "Heroes of the Deep," Century 56:3 (July 1898), 364-377. "Alone in a Four-Ton Boat," New York Times , June 19, 1899. "Passed Blackburn's Boat," New York Times , Aug. 11, 1899. "Capt. Blackburn at Lisbon," New York Times , July 21, 1901. Sherman Bristol, "The Fishermen of Gloucester," Junior Munsey 10:5 (August 1901), 749-755. Patrick McGrath, "Off the Banks,"
Mon, July 09, 2018
Giving Birth to Rabbits
In 1726 London was rocked by a bizarre sensation: A local peasant woman began giving birth to rabbits, astounding the city and baffling the medical community. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the strange case of Mary Toft, which has been called "history's most fascinating medical mystery." We'll also ponder some pachyderms and puzzle over some medical misinformation. Intro: The notion of music without substance raises some perplexing philosophical puzzles . Japanese haiku master Masaoka Shiki wrote nine verses about baseball. Sources for our feature on Mary Toft: Dennis Todd, Imagining Monsters: Miscreations of the Self in Eighteenth-Century England , 1995. Clifford A. Pickover, The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits: A True Medical Mystery , 2000. Richard Gordon, Great Medical Mysteries , 1984. Lisa Forman Cody, Birthing the Nation: Sex, Science, and the Conception of Eighteenth-Century Britons, 2005. Wendy Moore, "Of Rabbit and Humble Pie," British Medical Journal 338 (May 7, 2009). Palmira Fontes da Costa, "The Medical Understanding of Monstrous Births at the Royal Society of London During the First Half of the Eighteenth Century," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 26:2 (2004), 157-175. Lawrence Segel, "What's Up, Doc?" Medical Post 39:11 (March 18, 2003), 37. Glennda Leslie, "Cheat and Impostor: Debate Following the Case of the Rabbit Breeder," Eighteenth Century 27:3 (Fall 1986), 269-286. Bill Bynum, "Maternal Impressions," Lancet 359:9309 (March 9, 2002), 898. Dolores Peters, "The Pregnant Pamela: Characterization and Popular Medical Attitudes in the Eighteenth Century," Eighteenth-Century Studies 14:4 (Summer 1981), 432-451. S.A. Seligman, "Mary Toft -- The Rabbit Breeder," Medical History 5:4 (1961), 349-360. Charles Green Cumston, "The Famous Case of Mary Toft, the Pretended Rabbit Breeder of Godalming," American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children 68:2 (August 1913), 274-300. Nathaniel Saint-André, A Short Narrative of an Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbets, Perform'd by Mr John Howard, Surgeon at Guilford , 1727. Sir Richard Manningham, An Exact Diary of What Was Observ'd During a Close Attendance Upon Mary Toft, the Pretended Ra
Mon, July 02, 2018
The Bluebelle's Last Voyage
In 1961, Wisconsin optometrist Arthur Duperrault chartered a yacht to take his family on a sailing holiday in the Bahamas. After two days in the islands, the ship failed to return to the mainland, and the unfolding story of its final voyage made headlines around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll recount the fate of the Bluebelle and its seven passengers and crew. We'll also sympathize with some digital misfits and puzzle over some incendiary cigarettes. Intro: John Brunner's novel The Squares of the City encodes an 1892 chess game between Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin. Around 1730 Ben Franklin laid out 11 "necessary hints to those that would be rich." Sources for our feature on the Bluebelle : Richard D. Logan and Tere Duperrault Fassbender, Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean , 2011. "The Sea: The Bluebelle 's Last Voyage," Time , Dec. 1, 1961. Herbert Brean, "The ' Bluebelle ' Mystery," Life , Dec. 1, 1961. Erle Stanley Gardner, "The Case of the Bluebelle 's Last Voyage," Sarasota Herald-Tribune , March 25, 1962. "Shipwrecked Girl, 11, Rescued After 4 Days on Raft in Atlantic," United Press International, Nov. 17, 1961. "Skipper Is Suicide After Yacht Wreck," United Press International, Nov. 18, 1961. "Yacht Girl Rallies," New York Times , Nov. 19, 1961. "Yacht Girl Questioned; Survivor of Sinking Reported on Way to Full Recovery," Associated Press, Nov. 20, 1961. "Rescued Girl's Story Indicates Skipper Killed Others on Yacht," Associated Press, Nov. 21, 1961. <a href= "https://www.nytimes.co
Mon, June 25, 2018
The Sky and the Sea
Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard opened two new worlds in the 20th century. He was the first person to fly 10 miles above the earth and the first to travel 2 miles beneath the sea, using inventions that opened the doors to these new frontiers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Piccard on his historic journeys into the sky and the sea. We'll also admire some beekeeping serendipity and puzzle over a sudden need for locksmiths. Intro: Herbert Hoover's doctor invented a game to keep him in shape. William Howard Taft boasted that he lost 70 pounds on this diet . Sources for our feature on Auguste Piccard: Auguste Piccard, Between Earth and Sky , 1950. Auguste Piccard, Earth, Sky and Sea , 1956. Alan Honour, Ten Miles High, Two Miles Deep: The Adventures of the Piccards , 1957. Fergus Fleming and Annabel Merulla, eds., The Explorer's Eye , 2005. Tom Cheshire, The Explorer Gene: How Three Generations of One Family Went Higher, Deeper, and Further Than Any Before , 2013. Markus Pagitz, "The Future of Scientific Ballooning," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A 365:1861, 3003-3017. G. Pfotzer, "History of the Use of Balloons in Scientific Experiments," Space Science Reviews 13:2 (June 1972), 199-242. Don Walsh, "Dr. Piccard and His Wonderful Electric Submarines," United States Naval Institute Proceedings 137:9 (September 2011), 102. "Bathyscaphe Explores Ocean Bottom," Science News-Letter 733 (Jan. 18, 1958), 35. Jean Piccard, "Exploration by Balloon," Scientific Monthly 47:3 (September 1938), 270-277. J.R. Dean, "Deep Submersibles Used in Oceanography," Geographical Journal 131:1 (March 1965), 70-72. "Scientists Fortunate to Return from Region of Black Skies," Science News-Letter 19:530 (June 6, 1931), 364. "Auguste Piccard," Physics Today 15:8 (August 1962), 80. "Ten Miles High in an Air-Tight Ball," Popular Science , August 1931, 23. Mark Betancourt, "See The World From 100,000 Feet," Air & Space Smithsonian , July 2015. Malcolm W. Browne, "A Balloonist's Adventurous Lineage," New York Times , March 21, 1999, 8. "Balloon's Historic Flight an Aviation
Mon, June 18, 2018
The White Mouse
In 1928 Nancy Wake ran away from her Australian home and into an unlikely destiny: She became a dynamo in the French resistance, helping more than a thousand people to flee the Germans and then organizing partisans to fight them directly. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the White Mouse, one of the bravest heroes of World War II. We'll also marvel at mailmen and puzzle over an expensive homework assignment. Intro: The town of Agloe, New York, was invented by a pair of mapmakers . F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise contains two hidden poems . Sources for our feature on Nancy Wake: Peter FitzSimons, Nancy Wake , 2001. Nancy Wake, The White Mouse , 1985. Russell Braddon, The White Mouse , 1956. "Dispatches," World War II 26:4 (November/December 2011), 16. "History in the Media," History Today 55:4 (April 2005), 9. "Sound Off," Leatherneck 85:6 (June 2002), 2. Adam Bernstein, "Nancy Wake, 'White Mouse' of World War II, Dies at 98," Washington Post , Aug. 9, 2011. Paul Vitello, "Nancy Wake, Proud Spy and Nazi Foe, Dies at 98," New York Times , Aug. 13, 2011. "Obituary: Nancy Wake," Economist 400:8746 (Aug. 13, 2011), 82. Chris Brice, "The Mouse That Roared," [Adelaide] Advertiser , June 2, 2001. Bruce Wilson, "Forever in Her Debt," [Brisbane] Courier-Mail , Feb. 15, 2003, 34. "War Heroine Nancy Wake Dies," ABC Premium News, Aug. 8, 2011. "Prince Helps Pauper Heroine," [Adelaide] Advertiser , Feb. 11, 2003, 22. "Australian 'White Mouse' Was a Guerrilla to Nazis Selling Her War Medals Did Not Endear Her to Countrymen, Though," Christian Science Monitor , June 8, 1994. Sandra Laville, "Penniless Resistance Hero Stays On ... and On ... at Hotel," Vancouver Sun , Feb. 11, 2003, A16. Red Harrison, "All Guts and Garters," Weekend Australian , June 9, 2001. Lydia Clifford, "Secrets and White Lies," Daily Telegraph , June 1, 2001, 117. Bruce Wilson, "Penniless Wake Is Also Priceless," Daily Telegraph , Feb. 14, 2003, 23. Nate Rawlings, "Nancy Wake," Time 178:8 (Aug. 29, 2011), 20. Roderick Bailey, "Wake, Nancy Grace Augusta," Oxford Dict
Mon, June 11, 2018
Mary Anning's Fossils
In 1804, when she was 5 years old, Mary Anning began to dig in the cliffs that flanked her English seaside town. What she found amazed the scientists of her time and challenged the established view of world history. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of "the greatest fossilist the world ever knew.” We'll also try to identify a Norwegian commando and puzzle over some further string pulling. Intro: William Rowan Hamilton was so pleased with the fundamental formula for quaternions that he carved it into the bridge on which it occurred to him . On Christmas morning 1875, Mark Twain's daughter discovered a letter from the moon . Sources for our feature on Mary Anning: Shelley Emling, The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World , 2009. Thomas W. Goodhue, Fossil Hunter: The Life and Times of Mary Anning (1799-1847) , 2004. Hugh Torrens, "Presidential Address: Mary Anning (1799-1847) of Lyme; 'The Greatest Fossilist the World Ever Knew,'" British Journal for the History of Science 28:3 (September 1995), 257-284. Crispin Tickell, "Princess of Palaeontology," Nature 400:6742 (July 22, 1999), 321. Adrian Burton, "The Ichthyosaur in the Room," Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10:6 (August 2012), 340. Tom Huntington, "The Princess of Paleontology," British Heritage 26:2 (May 2005), 44-59. Michael A. Taylor and Hugh S. Torrens, "Fossils by the Sea," Natural History 104:10 (October 1995), 66. Renee M. Clary and James H. Wandersee, "Mary Anning: She's More Than 'Seller of Sea Shells at the Seashore,'" American Biology Teacher 68:3 (March 2006), 153-157. Peggy Vincent et al., "Mary Anning's Legacy to French Vertebrate Palaeontology," Geological Magazine 151:1 (January 2014), 7-20. Michael A. Taylor and Hugh S. Torrens, "An Anonymous Account of Mary Anning (1799–1847), Fossil Collector of Lyme Regis, England, Published in Chambers's Journal in 1857, and its Attribution to Frank Buckland (1826–1880), George Roberts (c.1804–1860) and William Buckland (1784–1856)," Archives of Natural History 41:2 (2014), 309–325. Justin Pollard and Stephanie Pollard, "Mary Anning: Born 21 May 1799," History Today 68:3 (March 2018), 22-23. Sarah Zielinski, "Mary Anning, an Amazing Fossil Hunter," Smithsonian , Jan. 5, 2010. Shelley
Mon, June 04, 2018
Notes and Queries
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some more curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a misplaced elephant, a momentous biscuit failure, a peripatetic ax murderer, and the importance of the 9 of diamonds. We'll also revisit Michael Malloy's resilience and puzzle over an uncommonly casual prison break. Intro: In 1846, geologist Adam Sedgwick sent his niece some tips on pronouncing Welsh . In 1961, psychologist Robert Sommer reflected that a person's importance is reflected in his keyring . Sources for our feature on notes and queries: Justin Kaplan and Anne Bernays mention the naming of Deathball Rock, Oregon, in their 1999 book The Language of Names: What We Call Ourselves and Why It Matters . The anecdote about the King Kong animator is from Orville Goldner and George E. Turner's 1975 book The Making of King Kong . The anecdote about Fred Astaire and the editor is from Brian Seibert's 2015 history of tap dancing, What the Eye Hears , supplemented by this New Yorker letter . Oxford mathematician Nick Trefethen's jotted thoughts are collected in Trefethen's Index Cards , 2011. The identity of the "bravest man" at the Battle of the Little Bighorn is discussed in Thom Hatch's 2000 Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn: An Encyclopedia and Frederic C. Wagner III's 2016 Participants in the Battle of the Little Big Horn . But I don't know any source that makes a decided claim as to his identity. "Icy Mike," the bull elephant skeleton discovered on Mount Kenya, is mentioned in Matthew Power and Keridwen Cornelius' article "Escape to Mount Kenya" in National Geographic Adventure 9:7 (September 2007), 65-71. Bernard Suits defines games in The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia , 1978. The anecdote about Maidenhead, Berkshire, is from Gordon Snell's The Book of Theatre Quotes , 1982. The observation about William Byrd's diary is in Margaret Fleming's "Analysis of a Four-Letter Word," in Maledicta 1:2 (1977). Bill James' book about the Villisca ax murders is The Man From the Train , co-written with his daughter Rachel McCarthy James. Richard O. Jones describes the Cincinnati privy disaster of 1904 in this Belt Magazine article of N
Mon, May 28, 2018
The Rosenhan Experiment
In the 1970s psychologist David Rosenhan sent healthy volunteers to 12 psychiatric hospitals, where they claimed to be hearing voices. Once they were admitted, they behaved normally, but the hospitals diagnosed all of them as seriously mentally ill. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Rosenhan experiment, which challenged the validity of psychiatric diagnosis and set off a furor in the field. We'll also spot hawks at Wimbledon and puzzle over a finicky payment processor. Intro: In 2002, Burkard Polster investigated the mathematics of shoelaces . A raindrop that lands on Montana's Triple Divide Peak might arrive at any of three oceans. Sources for our feature on the Rosenhan experiment: Roger R. Hock, Forty Studies That Changed Psychology , 2009. Dusan Kecmanovic, Controversies and Dilemmas in Contemporary Psychiatry , 2017. Donald O. Granberg and John F. Galliher, A Most Human Enterprise , 2010. David Rosenhan, "On Being Sane in Insane Places," Science 179:4070 (Jan. 19, 1973), 250–258. Paul R. Fleischman et al., "Psychiatric Diagnosis," Science , New Series 180:4084 (April 27, 1973), 356+358+360-369. Robert L. Spitzer, "On Pseudoscience in Science, Logic in Remission, and Psychiatric Diagnosis: A Critique of Rosenhan's 'On Being Sane in Insane Places,'" Journal of Abnormal Psychology 84:5, 442–452. Ulric Neisser, "Reversibility of Psychiatric Diagnoses," Science , New Series 180:4091 (June 15, 1973), 1116. Martin Bulmer, "Are Pseudo-Patient Studies Justified?," Journal of Medical Ethics 8:2 (June 1982), 65-71. Peter C. Gaughwin, "On Being Insane in Medico-Legal Places: The Importance of Taking a Complete History in Forensic Mental Health Assessment," Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 12:2 (2005), 298-310. Theodore Millon, "Reflections on Rosenhan's 'On Being Sane in Insane Places,'" Journal of Abnormal Psychology 84:5 (October 1975), 456-461. Maurice K. Temerlin, "Suggestion Effects in Psychiatric Diagnosis," Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 147:4 (October 1968), 349–353. Murray J. Goddard, "Personal Accounts: On Being Possibly Sane in Possibly Insane Places," Psychiatric Services 62:8 (August 2011), 831-832. Jared M. Bartels and Danie
Mon, May 21, 2018
The Gardner Heist
In 1990, two thieves dressed as policemen walked into Boston's Gardner museum and walked out with 13 artworks worth half a billion dollars. After 28 years the lost masterpieces have never been recovered. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the largest art theft in history and the ongoing search for its solution. We'll also discover the benefits of mustard gas and puzzle over a surprisingly effective fighter pilot. Intro: In 1938, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana vanished without a trace. Many of the foremost intellectuals of the early 20th century frequented the same café in Vienna. Sources for our feature on the Gardner heist: Ulrich Boser, The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft , 2008. Stephen Kurkjian, Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World's Greatest Art Heist , 2015. Michael Brenson, "Robbers Seem to Know Just What They Want," New York Times , March 19, 1990. Peter S. Canellos, Andy Dabilis, and Kevin Cullen, "Art Stolen From Gardner Museum Was Uninsured, Cost of Theft Coverage Described as Prohibitive," Boston Globe , March 20, 1990, 1. Robert Hughes, "A Boston Theft Reflects the Art World's Turmoil," Time 135:14 (April 2, 1990), 54. Peter Plagens, Mark Starr, and Kate Robins, "To Catch an Art Thief," Newsweek 115:14 (April 2, 1990), 52. Scott Baldauf, "Museum Asks: Does It Take a Thief to Catch a Degas?," Christian Science Monitor 89:193 (Aug. 29, 1997), 3. Steve Lopez and Charlotte Faltermayer, "The Great Art Caper," Time 150:21 (Nov. 17, 1997), 74. "Missing Masterpieces," Security 37:6 (June 2000), 14-18. Robert M. Poole, "Ripped From the Walls (And the Headlines)," Smithsonian 36:4 (July 2005), 92-103. Paige Williams, "The Art of the Story," Boston Magazine , March 2010. Randy Kennedy, "20th Anniversary of a Boston Art Heist," New York Times , March 17, 2010. Mark Durney and Blythe Proulx, "Art Crime: A Brief Introduction," Crime, Law and Social Change 56:115 (September 2011). Katharine Q. Seelye and Tom Mashberg, "A New Effort in Boston to Catch 1990 Art Thieves," New York Times</e
Mon, May 14, 2018
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are five new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was contributed by listener Mary McNally. Puzzle #2 is from listeners Tay Moss and John Russell. Puzzle #3 is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles , plus this article . Puzzle #4 was suggested by an item in Kevin McAleer's 2014 book Dueling: The Cult of Honor in Fin-de-Siècle Germany . Puzzle #5 was devised by Sharon. Here are three corroborating links . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, May 07, 2018
The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering
In 1921 a schooner ran aground on the treacherous shoals off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. When rescuers climbed aboard, they found signs of a strange drama in the ship's last moments -- and no trace of the 11-man crew. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the curious case of the Carroll A. Deering , which has been called "one of the enduring mysteries of maritime history." We'll also experiment with yellow fever and puzzle over a disputed time of death. Intro: Benoni Lanctot's 1867 Chinese and English Phrase Book is not a model of cross-cultural comity . In 1916 a bank director mailed 15,000 bricks to establish a new bank in Vernal, Utah. Sources for our feature on the Carroll A. Deering : Bland Simpson, Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals , 2002. Edward Rowe Snow, Mysteries and Adventures Along the Atlantic Coast , 1948. David Stick, Graveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast , 1952. David H. Grover, "Baffling Mystery of Cape Hatteras' Twin Ship Disappearances," Sea Classics 40:6 (June 2007), 42. David Grover, "Bedeviling Mystery of the Vanished Conestoga," Sea Classics 42:4 (April 2009), 42-49. National Park Foundation, "The Legend of the Ghost Ship: Carroll A. Deering," Oct. 28, 2015. National Park Service, "The Ghost Ship of the Outer Banks," April 14, 2015. Richard Seamon, "Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals: The Mystery of Carroll A. Deering," United States Naval Institute Proceedings 128:11 (November 2002), 82-84. "3 U.S. Ships Vanish at Sea With Crews; Reds Blamed," New York Tribune , June 21, 1921. "Piracy Suspected in Disappearance of 3 American Ships," New York Times , June 21, 1921. <a href= "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1921-06-21/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1789&index=1&rows=20&words=A+Carroll+Deering&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=%22Carroll+A.+Deering%22&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType
Mon, April 30, 2018
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
In 1932 a quartet of Bronx gangsters set out to murder a friend of theirs in order to collect his life insurance. But Michael Malloy proved to be almost comically difficult to kill. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review what one observer called "the most clumsily executed insurance scam in New York City history." We'll also burrow into hoarding and puzzle over the value of silence. Intro: In May 1856 Abraham Lincoln gave a fiery speech of which no record exists . Calvin S. Brown argued that Thomas De Quincey modeled the third part of his 1849 essay "The English Mail-Coach" deliberately on a musical fugue . Sources for our feature on Michael Malloy: Simon Read, On the House: The Bizarre Killing of Michael Malloy , 2005. Deborah Blum, The Poisoner's Handbook , 2011. Karen Abbott, "The Man Who Wouldn't Die," Smithsonian , Feb. 7, 2012. Isabelle Keating, "Doctor and Undertaker Held in 'Murder Trust,'" Brooklyn Daily Eagle , May 12, 1933. "Insurance Murder Charged to Five," New York Times , May 13, 1933. "4 Murder Attempts Cited in Weird Insurance Plot," Altoona (Pa.) Tribune , May 13, 1933. "Murder Plot Seen in Another Death," New York Times , May 14, 1933. "Murder Inquiry Is Widened by Foley," New York Times , May 16, 1933. "Six Are Indicted in Insurance Plot," [Washington D.C.] Evening Star , May 17, 1933. "Indicted as Slayers in Insurance Plot," New York Times , Ma
Mon, April 23, 2018
Alone Across the Outback
In 1977, a young woman named Robyn Davidson set out to pursue what she called a "lunatic idea" -- to lead a group of camels 1,700 miles across western Australia, from the center of the continent to the Indian Ocean. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Davidson's remarkable journey alone through the Outback and learn what it taught her. We'll also dive into the La Brea Tar Pits and puzzle over some striking workers. Intro: O.E. Young of Petersburg, Va., assembled a two-story house from the marble headstones of 2,000 Union soldiers . In 1946 Stan Bult began recording the faces of London clowns on eggshells . Sources for our feature on Robyn Davidson: Robyn Davidson, Tracks , 1980. Paul Smethurst, Travel Writing and the Natural World, 1768-1840 , 2012. Robert Clarke, Travel Writing From Black Australia: Utopia, Melancholia, and Aboriginality , 2016. Amanda Hooton, "Travels of the Heart," Sydney Morning Herald , Feb. 8, 2014. Robyn Davidson, "Walk My Country," Mānoa 18:2 (Winter 2006), 7-17. "The Inspiration: Robyn Davidson," Australian Geographic 90 (April-June 2008), 112-112. Dea Birkett, "The Books Interview: Robyn Davidson -- Landmarks of an Accursed Art," Independent , Aug. 4, 2001, 9. Luke Slattery, "10 Questions: Robyn Davidson, Writer, Traveller, 59," Australian Magazine , Oct. 13, 2012, 10. Michele Field, "Robyn Davidson: A Literary Nomad," Publishers Weekly 243:46 (Nov. 11, 1996), 52-53. Cathy Pryor, " Tracks Author Robyn Davidson Reflects on a Changing Australia, 40 Years After Her Desert Trek," ABC News, Dec. 8, 2017. Richard Feloni, "16 Striking Photos of One Woman's 2,835km Trek Across the Australian Outback," Business Insider Australia, Feb. 15, 2015. Robyn Davidson, " Tracks : The True Story Behind the Film," Telegraph , April
Mon, April 16, 2018
The Long Way Home
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the crew of an American seaplane were caught off guard near New Zealand. Unable to return across the Pacific, they were forced to fly home "the long way" -- all the way around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the adventures of the Pacific Clipper on its 30,000-mile journey through a world engulfed in war. We'll also delve into the drug industry and puzzle over a curious case of skin lesions. Intro: In the 18th century Italian artist Giovanni Piranesi began to turn out etchings of fantastic prisons . Spanish philologist Valentín García Yebra contends that this six-word Portuguese poem can't be translated effectively into another language. Sources for our feature on the Pacific Clipper: Ed Dover, The Long Way Home , 2010. Archie Satterfield, The Day the War Began , 1992. C.V. Glines, "The China Clipper, Pan American Airways and Popular Culture," Aviation History 18:1 (September 2007), 69-70. C.V. Glines, "Clippers Circle the Globe," Aviation History 17:4 (March 2007), 34-43. John A. Marshall, "The Long Way Home," Air & Space Smithsonian 10:2 (June/July 1995), 18. Wolfgang Saxon, "Robert Ford, Clipper Pilot of 40's Who Circled Globe, Dies at 88," New York Times , Oct. 19, 1994. "World Travelers Pearl Harbor Turns a Routine Pan Am Clipper Flight Into a 31,500-Mile Odyssey," Chicago Tribune , Dec. 3, 2000. Byron Darnton, "Pacific Clipper, Racing War, Circles Globe, Lands Here," New York Times , Jan. 7, 1942. "Pacific Clipper at Noumea," New York Times , Nov. 11, 1941. "Pan Am's Pacific Clippers," Pacific Aviation Museum, Sept. 14, 2011. Robert van der Linden, "December 7, 1941 and the First Around-the-World Commercial Flight," Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Dec. 8, 2011. John A. Marshall, "Celebrating the 75
Mon, April 09, 2018
A Case of Musical Plagiarism
When the English concert pianist Joyce Hatto died in 2006, she was remembered as a national treasure for the brilliant playing on her later recordings. But then doubts arose as to whether the performances were really hers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review a surprising case of musical plagiarism, which touched off a scandal in the polite world of classical music. We'll also spot foxes in London and puzzle over a welcome illness. Intro: In 1964 a British meteorologist found an abandoned whaleboat on the most remote island in the world. Scores of dogs have jumped to their deaths from the bridge approaching Scotland's Overtoun House. Sources for our feature on Joyce Hatto: Richard Dyer, "After Recording 119 CDs, A Hidden Jewel Comes to Light," Boston Globe , Aug. 21, 2005. Richard Dyer, "Joyce Hatto, At 77; Pianist Was Prolific Recording Artist," Boston Globe , July 4, 2006. Jeremy Nicholas, "Joyce Hatto," Guardian , July 10, 2006. "Joyce Hatto," Telegraph , July 28, 2006. David Denton, "The Remarkable Story of Joyce Hatto, Part 2: An Overview Discography," Fanfare 30:2 (September 2006), 65-67. Ates Orga, "Joyce Hatto," Independent , Aug. 13, 2006. "Masterpieces or Fakes? The Joyce Hatto Scandal," Gramophone , Feb. 15, 2007. Alan Riding, "A Pianist's Recordings Draw Praise, But Were They All Hers?" , New York Times , Feb. 17, 2007. Martin Beckford, "Pianist's Virtuosity Is Called Into Question," Telegraph , Feb. 17, 2007. Martin Beckford, "My Wife's Virtuoso Recordings Are Genuine," Telegraph, Feb. 20, 2007. Mike Musgrove, "Too Perfect Harmony: How Technology Fostered, and Detected, a Pianist's Alleged Plagiarism," Washington Post , Feb.
Mon, March 26, 2018
The Double Life of Clarence King
American geologist Clarence King led a strange double life in the late 1800s: He invented a second identity as a black railroad porter so he could marry the woman he loved, and then spent 13 years living separate lives in both white and black America. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the extraordinary lengths that King went to in order to be with the woman he loved. We'll also contemplate the dangers of water and puzzle over a policeman's strange behavior. Intro: Artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster arrange household trash to cast shadow self-portraits. Participants 140 meters apart can hold an inaudible conversation across South Australia's Barossa Reservoir dam. Sources for our feature on Clarence King: Martha A. Sandweiss, Passing Strange , 2009. Bill Croke, "The Many Lives of Clarence King," American Spectator , Feb. 28, 2011. John Koster, "He Tried to Solve Earth’s Mysteries And Left a Few Mysteries of His Own- Clarence King," Wild West , February 2014. William Grimes, "Recalling a Geologist, Adventurer and Raconteur Whom Henry Adams Looked Up to," New York Times , Feb. 22, 2006. David L. Beck, "A Geologist's Secret Life," St. Petersburg Times , April 12, 2009. William Howarth, "Sex, Lies and Cyanide," Washington Post , May 20, 1990. Michael K. Johnson, "Passing Strange," Western American Literature 44:4 (Winter 2010), 404-405. Martha A. Sandweiss, "Ada Copeland King," American National Biography (accessed March 23, 2018). Thurman Wilkins, "Clarence Rivers King," American National Biography (accessed March 23, 2018). "American Lives: The 'Strange' Tale of Clarence King," Morning Edition , National Public Radio, Aug. 18, 2010. Annette Gordon-Reed, "Color Blind," Washington Post , Feb. 22, 2009. Jennifer Greenstein Altmann, "Sandweiss Unearths a Compelling Tale of Secret Racial Identity," Princeton University, Dec. 17, 2009. Baz Dreisinger, "
Mon, March 19, 2018
The Collyer Brothers
In the 1930s, brothers Homer and Langley Collyer withdrew from society and began to fill their Manhattan brownstone with newspapers, furniture, musical instruments, and assorted junk. By 1947, when Homer died, the house was crammed with 140 tons of rubbish, and Langley had gone missing. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the strange, sad story of the Hermits of Harlem. We'll also buy a bit of Finland and puzzle over a banker's misfortune. Intro: When New Amsterdam governor Wilhelm Kieft tried to outlaw smoking in the 1630s, his citizens literally puffed him into submission . Residents of the Canary island La Gomera communicate over long distances using a unique whistled language . Sources for our feature on the Collyer brothers: Franz Lidz, Ghosty Men , 2003. Franz Lidz, "The Paper Chase," New York Times , Oct. 26, 2003. William Bryk, "The Collyer Brothers," New York Sun , April 13, 2005. Michael Kernan, "The Collyer Saga And How It Grew; Recalling the Men Who Turned Trash Into Legend," Washington Post , February 8, 1983, B1. "Strange Case of the Collyer Brothers," Life , April 7, 1947. Robert M. Jarvis, "The Curious Legal Career of Homer L. Collyer," Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce 38:4 (October 2007), 571-582. Keith P. Ronan, "Navigating the Goat Paths: Compulsive Hoarding, or Collyer Brothers Syndrome, and the Legal Reality of Clutter," Rutgers Law Review 64:1 (Fall 2011), 235-266. Kenneth J. Weiss, "Hoarding, Hermitage, and the Law: Why We Love the Collyer Brothers," Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 38:2 (June 2010), 251-257. Kenneth J. Weiss and Aneela Khan, "Hoarding, Housing, and DSM-5," Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 43:4 (December 2015), 492-498. Scott Herring, "Collyer Curiosa: A Brief History of Hoarding," Criticism 53:2 (Spring 2011), 159-188. Patrick W. Moran, "The Collyer Brothers and the F
Mon, March 12, 2018
The Winchester Diver
In 1905 Winchester Cathedral was in danger of collapsing as its eastern end sank into marshy ground. The surprising solution was to hire a diver, who worked underwater for five years to build a firmer foundation for the medieval structure. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of William Walker and his curious contribution to saving a British landmark. We'll also contemplate a misplaced fire captain and puzzle over a shackled woman. Intro: Anthony Trollope became a prolific author by simply demanding it of himself . Wyoming's North Two Ocean Creek drains into both the Atlantic and the Pacific . Sources for our feature on William Walker: Ian T. Henderson and John Crook, The Winchester Diver , 1984. Barry Shurlock, The Winchester Story , 1986. Frederick Bussby, William Walker , 1970. John Crook and Yoshio Kusaba, "The Transepts of Winchester Cathedral: Archaeological Evidence, Problems of Design, and Sequence of Construction," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 50:3 (September 1991), 293-310. Gwilym Roberts, "How a Diver Saved Winchester Cathedral, UK: And Today's Solution?" Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers -- Engineering History and Heritage 166:3 (August 2013), 164-176. "William Walker: The Diver Who Saved the Cathedral," Winchester Cathedral (accessed Feb. 25, 2018). "Images of History," Journal of Diving History 21:2 (Spring 2013), 40. John Crook, "William Robert Walker," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Sept. 23, 2004. "How a Diver Saved a Cathedral," Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder 20:4 (October 1912), 61. "Foundations: The Use of Divers and the Grouting Machine," American Architect and Building News 93:1689 (May 6, 1908), 147. "Portland Cement in the Restoration of Winchester Cathedral," Cement 13:3 (July 1912), 84. "Winchester Cathedral," Journal of the Society of Estate Clerks of Works 19:222 (Dec. 1, 1906), 182. "Diving at Winchester Cathedr
Mon, March 05, 2018
The Longest Flight
The world's longest airplane flight took place in 1958, when two aircraft mechanics spent 64 days above the southwestern U.S. in a tiny Cessna with no amenities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the aerial adventures of Bob Timm and John Cook as they set a record that still stands today. We'll also consider a derelict kitty and puzzle over a movie set's fashion dictates. Intro: The Pythagorean theorem can be demonstrated using tangrams . Sculptor Marc Quinn molded a self-portrait from nine pints of his own frozen blood . Sources for our feature on Bob Timm and John Cook: Peter Garrison, "Beyond Endurance," Flying 144:2 (February 2017), 80-81. Marc C. Lee, "A Skyhawk for Everyone: Cessna's Hit Airplane Keeps Getting Better With Age," Plane and Pilot 48:2 (March 2012), 26-30,32-33. "From the Editor's Desk," Cessna Pilot 34:2 (March/April 2014), 2. "Endurance Test, Circa 1958," News & Videos, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, March 1, 2008. Shaun McKinnon, "They Kept a Tiny Plane Aloft for Months," Arizona Republic , April 14, 2013, A1. Warren Bates, "Plane Used to Set Record to Land at Airport Museum," Las Vegas Review , Feb. 11, 1999, 1B. "Hall of Fame," SP's Aviation , July 2015. Gannett News Service, "Risk Takers Make Long Flights Into History," April 13, 2013. George C. Larson, "The Pressure's On," Air & Space Smithsonian 27:1 (April/May 2012), 84. "Museum Honors City," Las Vegas Review-Journal , April 21, 1997, 2D. Ginger Mikkelsen, "Aviation Museum Draws 400,000 Annual Visitors," Las Vegas Review-Journal , June 13, 2001, 20AA. Anders Clark, "The Flight Endurance World Record," Disciples of Flight, Jan. 20, 2015. "Robert E. Timm & John W. Cook, Sr.," Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame (accessed Feb. 11, 2018). Barry Meek, "The Longest Flight In History - In a Cessna 172," Santa Clara County Airports (accessed Feb. 11, 2018). Shaun McKinnon, <a href= "https
Mon, February 26, 2018
Mary Patten and the Neptune's Car
In 1856, an American clipper ship was approaching Cape Horn when its captain collapsed, leaving his 19-year-old wife to navigate the vessel through one of the deadliest sea passages in the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Mary Patten and the harrowing voyage of the Neptune's Car. We'll also consider some improbable recipes and puzzle over a worker's demise. Intro: In 1943, the U.S. considered releasing glowing foxes in Japan to frighten Shintoists . Rice University chemist James Tour fashions stick figures from organic molecules . Sources for our feature on Mary Patten: Paul W. Simpson, Neptune's Car: An American Legend , 2018. Glenn A. Knoblock, The American Clipper Ship, 1845-1920 , 2014. Sam Jefferson, Clipper Ships and the Golden Age of Sail , 2014. David Cordingly, Seafaring Women , 2010. Jane D. Lyon, The Great Clippers , 2016. Bill Caldwell, Rivers of Fortune , 2002. Julie Baker, "The Troubled Voyage of Neptune's Car," American History 39:6 (February 2005), 58-65. Raymond A. Rydell, "The California Clippers," Pacific Historical Review 18:1 (February 1949), 70-83. Ann Whipple Marr, "Mary Ann Brown Patten," Oxford Dictionary of American National Biography , Dec. 2, 1999. "Neptune's Car," Ships of the World , 1997, 356. Kenneth J. Blume, Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Maritime Industry , 2012. "Mary Patten, 19 and Pregnant, Takes Command of a Clipper Ship in 1856," New England Historical Society (accessed Feb. 2, 2018). "The Story of Mary Patten," National Sailing Hall of Fame (accessed Feb. 2, 2018). "Women in Maritime History," San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service (accessed Feb. 2, 2018). Alan Flanders, "Clipper Neptune's Car Saved From Disaster by Quick-Learning Wife of Stricken Skipper," [Norfolk] Virginian-Pilot , Oct. 15, 2000, 3. George Tucker, "Woman's Touch Helped Clipper Ship Make History," [Norfolk] Virginian-Pilot , Nov. 14, 1999, B3. Joanne Lannin a
Mon, February 19, 2018
The "Wild White Man"
In 1835, settlers in Australia discovered a European man dressed in kangaroo skins, a convict who had escaped an earlier settlement and spent 32 years living among the natives of southern Victoria. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the extraordinary life of William Buckley, the so-called "wild white man" of colonial Australia. We'll also try to fend off scurvy and puzzle over some colorful letters. Intro: Radar pioneer Sir Robert Watson-Watt wrote a poem about ironically being stopped by a radar gun . The programming language Ook! is designed to be understood by orangutans. Sources for our feature on William Buckley: John Morgan, Life and Adventures of William Buckley , 1852. R.S. Brain, Letters From Victorian Pioneers , 1898. Francis Peter Labillière, Early History of the Colony of Victoria , 1878. James Bonwick, Port Phillip Settlement , 1883. William Thomas Pyke, Savage Life in Australia , 1889. Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke, Stories of Australia in the Early Days , 1897. John M. White, "Before the Mission Station: From First Encounters to the Incorporation of Settlers Into Indigenous Relations of Obligation," in Natasha Fijn, Ian Keen, Christopher Lloyd, and Michael Pickering, eds., Indigenous Participation in Australian Economies II , 2012. Patrick Brantlinger, "Eating Tongues: Australian Colonial Literature and 'the Great Silence'," Yearbook of English Studies 41:2 (2011), 125-139. Richard Broome, "Buckley, William," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Sept. 23, 2004. Marjorie J. Tipping, "Buckley, William (1780–1856)," Australian Dictionary of Biography , 1966. Reminiscenses of James Buckley Who Lived for Thirty Years Among the Wallawarro or Watourong Tribes at Geelong Port Phillip, Communicated by Him to George Langhorne (manuscript), State Library of Victoria (accessed Jan. 28, 2018). "William Buckley,"
Mon, February 12, 2018
The Bat Bomb
During World War II, the U.S. Army experimented with a bizarre plan: using live bats to firebomb Japanese cities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the crazy history of the bat bomb, the extraordinary brainchild of a Pennsylvania dentist. We'll also consider the malleable nature of mental illness and puzzle over an expensive quiz question. Intro: Ever since George Washington, American presidents have hated the job . Harpsichordist Johann Schobert composed a series of "puzzle minuets" that could be read upside down. Sources for our feature on the bat bomb: Jack Couffer, Bat Bomb , 1992. James M. Powles, "Lytle S. Adams Proposed One of America's Battiest Weapons," World War II 17:2 (July 2002), 62. Robert M. Neer, "Bats Out of Hell," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 25:4 (Summer 2013), 22-24. C.V. Glines, "Bat & Bird Bombers," Aviation History 15:5 (May 2005), 38-44. Stephan Wilkinson, "10 of History's Worst Weapons," Military History 31:1 (May 2014), 42-45. "Holy Smokes, Batman!" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 49:2 (March 1993), 5. Alexis C. Madrigal, "Old, Weird Tech: The Bat Bombs of World War II," Atlantic , April 14, 2011. Toni Kiser, "Bat Bomb Tests Go Awry," National WWII Museum, May 15, 2013. Joanne Grant, "Did They Have Bats in the Belfry? WWII Team Created Novel Bomb to Defeat Japan," [Bergen County, N.J.] Record , Oct. 27, 1996, A31. "Air Force Scrapped Top Secret 'Bat Bomb' Project in Carlsbad 70 Years Ago," Carlsbad [N.M.] Current-Argus , May 26, 2014. Curt Suplee, "Shot Down Before It Could Fly," Washington Post , Nov. 16, 1992, D01. T. Rajagopalan, "Birds and Animals in War and Peace," Alive 401 (March 2016), 92-93. Cara Giaimo, "The Almost Perfect World War II Plot To Bomb Japan With Bats," Atlas Obscura, Aug. 5, 2015. The total loss due to the Carlsbad fire was $6,838, nearly $100,0
Mon, January 29, 2018
A Human Being in the Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo unveiled a controversial exhibit in 1906 -- a Congolese man in a cage in the primate house. The display attracted jeering crowds to the park, but for the man himself it was only the latest in a string of indignities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the sad tale of Ota Benga and his life in early 20th-century America. We'll also delve into fugue states and puzzle over a second interstate speeder. Intro: Finnegans Wake contains nine thunderclaps of precisely the same length . In 1928 a British steamer seemed to receive an SOS from a perfectly sound ship . Sources for our feature on Ota Benga: Pamela Newkirk, Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga , 2015. Phillips Verner Bradford and Harvey Blume, Ota: The Pygmy in the Zoo , 1992. Pascal Blanchard, et al., eds., Human Zoos: Science and Spectacle in the Age of Colonial Empires , 2008. Pascal Blanchard, Gilles Boëtsch, and Nanette Jacomijn Snoep, eds., Human Zoos: The Invention of the Savage , 2011. Rikke Andreassen, Human Exhibitions , 2016. Karen Sotiropoulos, "'Town of God': Ota Benga, the Batetela Boys, and the Promise of Black America," Journal of World History 26:1 (March 2015), 41-76. Sarah Zielinski, "The Tragic Tale of the Pygmy in the Zoo," Smithsonian , Dec. 2, 2008. Pamela Newkirk, "Bigotry on Display," Chronicle of Higher Education , May 26, 2015. Geoffrey C. Ward, "The Man in the Zoo," American Heritage 43:6 (October 1992), 12. Paul Raffaele, "The Pygmies' Plight," Smithsonian 39:9 (December 2008), 70-77. Pamela Newkirk, "The Man Who Was Caged in a Zoo," Guardian , June 3, 2015. "A Fresh Lens on the Notorious Episode of Ota Benga," New York Times , May 29, 2015. Pamela Newkirk, "When the Bronx Zoo Exhibited a Man in an Iron Cage," CNN, June 3, 2015. Michael Coard, "Ota Benga, an African, Caged in a U.S. Zoo," Philadelphia Tribune , March 19, 2016. Mitch Keller, <a href= "http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/nyregion/thecity/06zoo.h
Mon, January 22, 2018
The Children's Blizzard
In January 1888, after a disarming warm spell, a violent storm of blinding snow and bitter cold suddenly struck the American Midwest, trapping farmers in fields, travelers on roads, and hundreds of children in schoolhouses with limited fuel. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Children's Blizzard, one of the most harrowing winter storms in American history. We'll also play 20 Questions with a computer and puzzle over some vanishing vultures. Intro: In 1835 an assassin shot two good pistols at Andrew Jackson and both misfired . In 1958 Brooklyn College chemistry professor Homer Jacobson built a self-replicating model train . Sources for our feature on the Children's Blizzard: David Laskin, The Children's Blizzard , 2004. Mitchell Newton-Matza, ed., Disasters and Tragic Events , 2014. Steven L. Horstmeyer, The Weather Almanac , 2011. "The Pitiless Blizzard," Aurora Daily Express , Jan. 16, 1888. "Victims of the Storm," Bridgeport Morning News , Jan. 19, 1888. "In the Neighborhood," Deseret News , Jan. 24, 1888. "A Brave Girl," Gettysburg [Pa.] Compiler , Jan. 31, 1888. Edythe H. Dunn, "Not Even an Act of God," Phi Delta Kappan 30:7 (March 1949), 245-249. Jill Callison, "The Children's Blizzard," Argus Leader , Dec. 26, 2004. Maria Houser Conzemius, "That's Why They Call It the Children's Blizzard," Iowa City Press-Citizen , March 13, 2007. Steve Tracton, "Freak, Deadly Storm: Children's Blizzard of 1888," Washington Post , Jan. 14, 2011. Jeanie Mebane, "Blizzard!" Cobblestone 33:3 (March 2012). "One-Room Schoolhouse Lives," Argus Leader , Sept. 4, 2012. Beccy Tanner, "213 Schoolchildren Perished in the Great Plains Blizzard of 1888," Wichita Eagle
Mon, January 15, 2018
The Man From Formosa
In 1703, London had a strange visitor, a young man who ate raw meat and claimed that he came from an unknown country on the island of Taiwan. Though many doubted him, he was able to answer any question he was asked, and even wrote a best-selling book about his homeland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the curious question of the man from Formosa. We'll also scrutinize a stamp forger and puzzle over an elastic Utah. Intro: In 1892 a legionnaire in West Africa met a rifle he'd owned 22 years earlier in France. Americans and Canadians can visit one another's territory through a Peace Arch on the border . Sources for our feature on George Psalmanazar: Michael Keevak, The Pretended Asian , 2004. Frederic J. Foley, The Great Formosan Impostor , 1968. Tobias B. Hug, Impostures in Early Modern England , 2010. George Psalmanazar, An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa , 1704. George Psalmanazar, A Dialogue Between a Japonese and a Formosan, About Some Points of the Religion of the Time , 1707. George Psalmanazar, Essays on the Following Subjects ... , 1753. George Psalmanazar, An Enquiry Into the Objections Against George Psalmanaazaar of Formosa , 1710. Memoirs of ****. Commonly Known by the Name of George Psalmanazar, a Reputed Native of Formosa , 1764. "George Psalmanazar," National Magazine 6:1 (1859), 123-127. "George Psalmanazar," Dictionary of National Biography , 1896, 439-442. Benjamin Breen, "No Man Is an Island: Early Modern Globalization, Knowledge Networks, and George Psalmanazar's Formosa," Journal of Early Modern History 17:4, 391-417. Michael Keevak, "A World of Impostures," Eighteenth Century 53:2 (Summer 2012), 233-235. Donald Rayfield, "Forgiving Forgery," Modern Language Review 107:4 (October 2012), xxv-xli. C. Macfie Campbell, "A Note on the Imagination and Its Exploitation: Psalmanazar and Hélène Smith," Journal of Nervo
Mon, January 01, 2018
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is adapted from an item that Sharon heard on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are two corroborating links . Puzzle #2 is from listener Simon Grimes. Puzzle #3 is from listener Jean-Yves. Here's a corroborating link . Puzzle #4 is from Kyle Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles . Puzzle #5 is from listener Alex Baumans. Puzzle #6 is adapted from W.S. Anglin's 1994 book Mathematics: A Concise History and Philosophy . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, December 25, 2017
An Everest Mystery
In 1924 two British mountaineers set out to be the first to conquer Mount Everest. But they never returned to camp, and to this day no one knows whether they reached the top. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the case of George Mallory and Andrew Irvin, which has been called "one of the greatest unsolved adventure mysteries of the 20th century." We'll also learn what to do if attacked by a bear and puzzle over the benefits of a water shortage. Intro: Marshall Islanders navigated using "charts" of lashed sticks, threads, and shells . Jan Brueghel's 1617 painting Hearing immortalizes a well-traveled Australian cockatoo . Sources for our feature on George Mallory and Andrew Irvine: Wade Davis, Into the Silence , 2011. Jochen Hemmleb, Larry A. Johnson, and Eric R. Simonson, Ghosts of Everest , 1999. Peter Firstbrook, Lost on Everest , 1999. Ed Douglas, "Lifelong Secret of Everest Pioneer: I Discovered Mallory's Body in 1936," Guardian , Nov. 23, 2013. Nick Squires, "Mallory and Irvine's Everest Death Explained," Telegraph , Aug. 4, 2010. Secrets of the Ice. Jon Kelly, "Mallory and Irvine: Should We Solve Everest's Mystery?" BBC News Magazine, Oct. 3, 2011. United Press International, "Team Heads for Everest," Aug. 11, 1986. Associated Press, "2 Everest Climbers Killed Near Summit," June 21, 1924. Henry W. Bunn, "The Story the Week Has To
Mon, December 18, 2017
The Compulsive Wanderer
In the 1870s, French gas fitter Albert Dadas started making strange, compulsive trips to distant towns, with no planning or awareness of what he was doing. His bizarre affliction set off a 20-year epidemic of "mad travelers" in Europe, which evaporated as mysteriously as it had begun. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the parable of pathological tourism and its meaning for psychiatry. We'll also contemplate the importance of sick chickens and puzzle over a farmyard contraption. Intro: Ontario doctor Samuel Bean designed an enigmatic tombstone for his first two wives. The Pythagorean theorem can spawn a geometric tree . Sources for our feature on Albert Dadas: Ian Hacking, Mad Travelers: Reflections on the Reality of Transient Mental Illnesses , 2002. Carl Elliott, Better Than Well , 2004. Peter Toohey, Melancholy, Love, and Time , 2004. Petteri Pietikäinen, Madness: A History , 2015. Craig Stephenson, "The Epistemological Significance of Possession Entering the DSM," History of Psychiatry 26:3 (September 2015), 251-269. María Laura Martínez, "Ian Hacking's Proposal for the Distinction Between Natural and Social Sciences," Philosophy of the Social Sciences 39:2 (June 2009), 212-234. Dominic Murphy, "Hacking's Reconciliation: Putting the Biological and Sociological Together in the Explanation of Mental Illness," Philosophy of the Social Sciences 31:2 (June 2001), 139-162. Roy Porter, "Fugue-itive Minds and Bodies," Times Higher Education , October 15, 1999. Listener mail: Sarah Laskow, "How Sick Chickens and Rice Led Scientists to Vitamin B1," Atlantic , Oct. 30, 2014. "Christiaan Eijkman, Beriberi and Vitamin B1," nobelprize.org (accessed Dec. 16, 2017). Wikipedia, "Casimir Funk" (accessed Dec. 16, 2017). "Gerrit Grijns in Java: Beriberi and the Concept of 'Partial Starvation,'" World Neurology, March 19, 2013. The Winnie-the-Pooh monument in White River, Ontario, from listener Dan M
Mon, December 11, 2017
Operation Gunnerside
During World War II, the Allies feared that Germany was on the brink of creating an atomic bomb. To prevent this, they launched a dramatic midnight commando raid to destroy a key piece of equipment in the mountains of southern Norway. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll remember Operation Gunnerside, "one of the most daring and important undercover operations of World War II." We'll also learn what to say when you're invading Britain and puzzle over the life cycle of cicadas. Intro: Hundreds of students overlooked an error in a Brahms capriccio; a novice found it . Hesiod's Theogony gives a clue to the distance between earth and heaven . Sources for our feature on Operation Gunnerside: Ray Mears, The Real Heroes of Telemark , 2003. Knut Haukelid, Skis Against the Atom , 1954. John D. Drummond, But for These Men , 1962. Neal Bascomb, The Winter Fortress , 2016. Thomas B. Allen, "Saboteurs at Work," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 26:2 (Winter 2014), 64-71. Ian Herrington, "The SIS and SOE in Norway 1940-1945: Conflict or Co-operation?" War in History 9:1 (January 2002), 82-110. Neal Bascomb, "Saboteurs on Skis," World War II 31:2 (July/August 2016), 58-67,6. Hans Børresen, "Flawed Nuclear Physics and Atomic Intelligence in the Campaign to Deny Norwegian Heavy Water to Germany, 1942-1944," Physics in Perspective 14:4 (December 2012), 471-497. "Operation Gunnerside," Atomic Heritage Foundation, July 28, 2017. Ray Mears, "Norwegian Resistance Coup," NOVA (accessed Nov. 19, 2017). Simon Worrall, "Inside the Daring Mission That Thwarted a Nazi Atomic Bomb," National Geographic , June 5, 2016. Andrew Han, "The Heavy Water War and the WWII Hero You Don't Know," Popular Mechanics , June 16, 2016. Gordon Corera, "Last Hero of Telemark: The Man Who Helped Stop Hitler's A-Bomb," BBC News, April 25, 2013. Tim Bross, "Sabotage Slowed Nazi's Pursuit of Atomic Power, Author Writes," St. Louis Post-Dispatch , May 1, 2016, D.7. Andrew Higgins, "WWII Hero
Mon, December 04, 2017
An Academic Impostor
Marvin Hewitt never finished high school, but he taught advanced physics, engineering, and mathematics under assumed names at seven different schools and universities between 1945 and 1953. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the curious career of an academic impostor, whose story has been called "one of the strangest academic hoaxes in history." We'll also try on a flashproof scarf and puzzle over why a healthy man would check into a hospital. Intro: Between 1950 and 1995, mathematician Marion Tinsley took first place in every checkers tournament he played in . The Hoover Dam contains a map of our sky so that future historians can date its creation. Sources for our feature on Marvin Harold Hewitt: Herbert Brean, "Marvin Hewitt, Ph(ony) D.," Life 36:15 (April 12, 1954), 144. "Honest Career for a Ph(ony) D.," Life 42:3 (Jan. 21, 1957), 57. "A Bogus Professor Is Unmasked," New York Times , March 6, 1954, 1. Michael L. James, "Bogus Professor Expects Job Bids," New York Times , March 7, 1954. "Ousted 'Professor' Gets Offer of a Job," Associated Press, April 11, 1954, 63. Helene Deutsch, "The Impostor: Contribution to Ego Psychology of a Type of Psychopath," Psychoanalytic Quarterly 80:4 (October 2011), 1005-1024. Ian Graham, Ultimate Book of Impostors , 2013. Maria Konnikova, The Confidence Game , 2017. Listener mail: One of the hard-won 1911 penguin eggs, now at London's Natural History Museum (thanks to listener Dave Lawrence). An anti-paparazzi scarf (thanks to Kevin Cedrone). Natural History Museum, <a href= "http://www.nhm.ac.uk/vis
Mon, November 27, 2017
Two Vanished Young Writers
Everett Ruess and Barbara Newhall Follett were born in March 1914 at opposite ends of the U.S. Both followed distinctly unusual lives as they pursued a love of writing. And both disappeared in their 20s, leaving no trace of their whereabouts. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the brief lives of two promising young authors and the mystery that lingers behind them. We'll also patrol 10 Downing Street and puzzle over when a pigeon isn't a pigeon. Intro: In the 1890s, tree-sized corkscrews were unearthed in Nebraska . Pyrex vanishes when immersed in oil. Sources for our feature on Everett Ruess and Barbara Newhall Follett: W.L. Rusho, Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty , 1983. Philip L. Fradkin, Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death, and Astonishing Afterlife , 2011. David Roberts, "Finding Everett Ruess," National Geographic Adventure 11:3 (April/May 2009), 75-81,101-104. Howard Berkes, "Mystery Endures: Remains Found Not Those of Artist," Weekend Edition Saturday , National Public Radio, Oct. 24, 2009. Susan Spano, "Not Finding the Lost Explorer Everett Ruess," Smithsonian , Nov. 4, 2011. Thomas H. Maugh II, "The Mystery of Everett Ruess' Disappearance Is Solved," Los Angeles Times , May 2, 2009. Jodi Peterson, "Everett Ruess Redux," High Country News , April 30, 2013. Peter Fish, "The Legend of Everett Ruess," Sunset 200:2 (February 1998), 18-21. Bruce Berger, "American Eye: Genius of the Canyons," North American Review 274:3 (September 1989), 4-9. Kirk Johnson, "Solution to a Longtime Mystery in Utah Is Questioned," New York Times , July 5, 2009, 13. Kirk Johnson, "Bones in a Desert Unlock Decades-Old Secrets for 2 Families," New York Times , May 1, 2009, A14. "A Mystery Thought Solved Is Now Renewed," New York Times , Oct. 22, 2009, A25. "Lost Artist Believed Living With Sheepmen," Los Angeles Times , March 10, 1935, 15. "Artist Believed Murder Victim," Los Angeles Times , Aug. 27, 1935, 9. "Burros Found in Snow Spur
Mon, November 20, 2017
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is adapted from the 2000 book Lateral Mindtrap Puzzles . Puzzle #2 was contributed by listener Dave Lawrence. Puzzle #3 was devised by Greg. Here are three corroborating links . Puzzle #4 is from listener Andrea Crinklaw. Here are two corroborating links . Puzzle #5 is from Greg. Here are three corroborating links . Puzzle #6 was inspired by an item on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are three corroborating links . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the <a href= "http://ww
Mon, November 13, 2017
Averting a Catastrophe in Manhattan
New York's Citicorp Tower was an architectural sensation when it opened in 1977. But then engineer William LeMessurier realized that its unique design left it dangerously vulnerable to high winds. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the drama that followed as a small group of decision makers tried to ward off a catastrophe in midtown Manhattan. We'll also cringe at an apartment mixup and puzzle over a tolerant trooper. Intro: A surprising number of record releases have been made of sandpaper. In high school, Ernest Hemingway wrote a poem composed entirely of punctuation . Sources for our feature on the Citicorp Tower: Joseph Morgenstern, "The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis," New Yorker , May 29, 1995. "All Fall Down," The Works , BBC, April 14, 1996. Eugene Kremer, "(Re)Examining the Citicorp Case: Ethical Paragon or Chimera?" Arq: Architectural Research Quarterly 6:3 (September 2002), 269-276. Joel Werner, "The Design Flaw That Almost Wiped Out an NYC Skyscraper," Slate , April 17, 2014. Sean Brady, "Citicorp Center Tower: How Failure Was Averted," Engineers Journal , Dec. 8, 2015. Michael J. Vardaro, "LeMessurier Stands Tall: A Case Study in Professional Ethics," AIA Trust, Spring 2013. P. Aarne Vesilind and Alastair S. Gunn, Hold Paramount: The Engineer's Responsibility to Society , 2010. Caroline Whitbeck, Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research , 1998. Ibo van de Poel and Lambèr Royakkers, Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction , 2011. Matthew Wells, Skyscrapers: Structure and Design , 2005. Gordon C. Andrews, Canadian Professional Engi
Mon, November 06, 2017
The Bear That Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh
In 1914, Canadian Army veterinarian Harry Colebourn was traveling to the Western Front when he met an orphaned bear cub in an Ontario railway station. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the adventures of Winnie the bear, including her fateful meeting with A.A. Milne and his son, Christopher Robin. We'll also marvel at some impressive finger counting and puzzle over an impassable bridge. Intro: At least two British television series have included Morse code in their theme music. A map of the American Midwest depicts an elf making chicken. Sources for our feature on Winnie the bear: Ann Thwaite, A.A. Milne , 1990. Val Shushkewich, The Real Winnie , 2005. Christopher Milne, The Enchanted Places , 1974. A.R. Melrose, ed., Beyond the World of Pooh , 1998. Paul Brody, In Which Milne's Life Is Told , 2014. Jackie Wullschläger, Inventing Wonderland , 1995. Gary Dexter, Why Not Catch-21? , 2008. Anna Tyzack, "The Story of Winnie the Pooh Laid Bare," Telegraph , Dec. 20, 2015. Lindsay Mattick, "The Story of How Winnie the Pooh Was Inspired by a Real Bear -- in Pictures," Guardian , Nov. 24, 2015. Tessa Vanderhart, "Winnie The Pooh Story Turns 99," Winnipeg Sun, Aug. 25, 2013. Jim Axelrod, "The Story of the Real Winnie the Pooh," CBS News, March 21, 2016. The Real Winnie , Ryerson University (accessed Oct. 22, 2017). "The True Tale of Winnie the Pooh, an Unlikely First World War Legacy," CBC Radio, Nov. 11, 2015. Christopher Klein, "The True Story of the Real-Life Winnie-the-Pooh," history.com, Oct. 13, 2016. Sean Coughlan, "The Skull of the 'Real' Winnie Goes on Display," BBC News, Nov. 20, 2015. <a href= "http://data4.col
Mon, October 30, 2017
The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island
In 1835, a Native American woman was somehow left behind when her dwindling island tribe was transferred to the California mainland. She would spend the next 18 years living alone in a world of 22 square miles. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the poignant story of the lone woman of San Nicolas Island. We'll also learn about an inebriated elephant and puzzle over an unattainable test score. Intro: As construction began on Scotland’s Forth Bridge, engineers offered a personal demonstration of its cantilever design . In the 1880s, Manhattan's rationalist "Thirteen Club" held a dinner on the 13th of each month to flout superstition. Sources for our feature on the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Sara L. Schwebel, ed., Island of the Blue Dolphins: The Complete Reader's Edition , 2016. William Henry Ellison, ed., The Life and Adventures of George Nidever , 1937. Robert F. Heizer and Albert B. Elsasser, eds., "Original Accounts of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island," in Aboriginal California: Three Studies of Cultural History , University of California Archaeological Research Facility, 1963. Travis Hudson, "Recently Discovered Accounts Concerning the 'Lone Woman' of San Nicolas Island," Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 3:2 (1981), 187-199. Marla Daily, "The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: A New Hypothesis on Her Origin," California History 68:1/2 (Spring-Summer 1989) 36-41. Jon M. Erlandson, Lisa Thomas-Barnett, René L. Vellanoweth, Steven J. Schwartz, and Daniel R. Muhs, "From the Island of the Blue Dolphins: A Unique Nineteenth-Century Cache Feature From San Nicolas Island, California," Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 8:1 (2013), 66-78. Amira F. Ainis, et al. "A Cache Within a Cache: Description of an Abalone 'Treasure-Box' from the CA-SNI-14 Redwood Box Cache, San Nicolas Island, Alta California," California Archaeology 9:1 (2017), 79-105. Eighth California Islands Symposium , National Park Service, Oct. 25, 2012. Steve Chawkins, "Island of the Blue Dolphins' Woman's Cav
Mon, October 23, 2017
Cracking the Nazi Code
In 1940, Germany was sending vital telegrams through neutral Sweden using a sophisticated cipher, and it fell to mathematician Arne Beurling to make sense of the secret messages. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the outcome, which has been called "one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of cryptography." We'll also learn about mudlarking and puzzle over a chicken-killing Dane. Intro: In 1836, three boys discovered 17 tiny coffins entombed near Edinburgh. On his 1965 album A Love Supreme , John Coltrane "plays" a poem on the saxophone. Sources for our feature on Arne Beurling: Bengt Beckman, Codebreakers: Arne Beurling and the Swedish Crypto Program During World War II , 1996. David Kahn, The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing , 1967. David Joyner, ed., Coding Theory and Cryptography , 2000. Bengt Beckman and Jonathan Beard, "Codebreakers: Arne Beurling and the Swedish Crypto Program During World War II," Intelligence and National Security 18:4 (January 2004), 206-207. Lars Ulfving, "The Geheimschreiber Secret: Arne Beurling and the Success of Swedish Signals Intelligence," in Bo Hugemark and Probus Förlag, eds., I Orkanens Öga, 1941 -- Osäker neutralitet , 1992. Louis Kruh, "Arne Beurling and Swedish Crypto," Cryptologia 27:3 (July 2003), 231. John Wermer, "Recollections of Arne Beurling," Mathematical Intelligencer 15:3 (January 1993), 32–33. Jurgen Rohwer, "Signal Intelligence and World War II: The Unfolding Story," Journal of Military History 63:4 (October 1999), 939-951. Bo Kjellberg, "Memories of Arne Beurling, February 3, 1905–November 20, 1986," Mathematical Intelligencer 15:3 (January 1993), 28–31. Håkan Hedenmalm, "Codebreakers: Arne Beurling and the Swedish Crypto Program During World War II," Mathematical Intelligencer 28:1 (December 2006), 57–59. Craig Graham McKay, "Swedish Cryptanalysis and the Saga of Arne Beurling: A Book Review," Cryptologia 23:3 (July 1999), 257. Louis Kruh, "Swedish Signal Intelligence History," Cryptologia 27:2 (April 2003), 186-187. "How Sweden Cracked the Nazi Code," Swedish History, Jan. 22, 2017. Lars Ahlfors and Lennart Carleson, "Arne Beurling In Memoriam," Acta Mathematica 161 (1988), 1-9. John
Mon, October 16, 2017
The Worst Journey in the World
In 1911, three British explorers made a perilous 70-mile journey in the dead of the Antarctic winter to gather eggs from a penguin rookery in McMurdo Sound. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the three through perpetual darkness and bone-shattering cold on what one man called "the worst journey in the world." We'll also dazzle some computers and puzzle over some patriotic highways. Intro: In 2014, mathematician Kevin Ferland determined the largest number of words that will fit in a New York Times crossword puzzle . In 1851, phrenologist J.P. Browne examined Charlotte Brontë without knowing her identity . Sources for our feature on Apsley Cherry-Garrard: Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World , 1922. Sara Wheeler, Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard , 2007. "Scott Perishes Returning From Pole," Salt Lake Tribune , Feb. 11, 1913. Paul Lambeth, "Captain Scott's Last Words Electrify England and World by Their Pathetic Eloquence," San Francisco Call , Feb. 12, 1913. Hugh Robert Mill, "The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic, 1910-1913," Nature 111:2786 (March 24, 1923), 386-388. "Cherry-Garrard, Explorer, Dead," New York Times , May 19, 1959. "Obituary: Apsley Cherry-Garrard," Geographical Journal 125:3/4 (September-December 1959), 472. James Lees-Milne, "From the Shavian Past: XCII," Shaw Review 20:2 (May 1977), 62. W.N. Bonner, "British Biological Research in the Antarctic," Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 14:1 (August 1980), 1-10. John Maxtone-Graham, "How Quest for Penguin Eggs Ended," New York Times , Oct. 2, 1994. Gabrielle Walker, "The Emperor's Eggs," New Scientist 162:2182 (April 17, 1999), 42-47. Gabrielle Walker, "It's Cold Out There," New Scientist 172:231
Mon, October 02, 2017
An American in Feudal Japan
In 1848, five years before Japan opened its closed society to the West, a lone American in a whaleboat landed on the country's northern shore, drawn only by a sense of mystery and a love of adventure. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Ranald MacDonald as he travels the length of Japan toward a destiny that will transform the country. We'll also remember a Soviet hero and puzzle over some security-conscious neighbors. Intro: In 1794, two French Hussars began an episodic duel that would last until 1813. In 1945, the Arkansas legislature accidentally repealed every law in the state . Sources for our feature on Ranald MacDonald: Frederik L. Schodt, Native American in the Land of the Shogun , 2003. Jo Ann Roe, Ranald MacDonald: Pacific Rim Adventurer , 1997. William S. Lewis and Naojiro Murakami, Ranald MacDonald: The Narrative of His Early Life on the Columbia Under the Hudson's Bay Company's Regime , 1990. Herbert H. Gowen, Five Foreigners in Japan , 1936. Gretchen Murphy, Shadowing the White Man's Burden: U.S. Imperialism and the Problem of the Color Line , 2010. Joel E. Ferris, "Ranald MacDonald: The Sailor Boy Who Visited Japan," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 48:1 (January 1957), 13-16. Benjamin MacDonald, "Narrative of Benjamin MacDonald," Washington Historical Quarterly 16:3 (July 1925), 186-197. David N. Cooper, "Behind the Bamboo Curtain: A Nineteenth-Century Canadian Adventurer in Japan," Manitoba History 74 (Winter 2014), 40-44. Gretchen Murphy, "'A Home Which Is Still Not a Home': Finding a Place for Ranald MacDonald," American Transcendental Quarterly 15:3 (September 2001), 225-244. Frederik L. Schodt, "The Chinook Who Paved the Way for Perry: Ranald MacDonald's Adventure in Japan, 1848-1849," Whispering Wind 33:3 (June 30, 2003), 20. Frederik L. Schodt and Shel Zolkewich, "Ranald MacDonald's Excellent Adventure," The Beaver 83:4 (August/September 2003), 29-33. "When Japan Was a Secret: Japanese Sea-Drifters," Economist 385:8560 (December 22, 2007), 93. Jeffrey Dym, "Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan [review]," Canadian Journal of History 39:2 (August 2004), 446-448. F.G. Notehelfer, "Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan [review]," Journal of Asian Studies 63:2 (May 2004), 513-514. Gordon B. Dodds, "Ranald MacDonald: Pacific Rim Adventurer [r
Mon, September 25, 2017
The Emperor of the United States
In the 1860s, San Francisco's most popular tourist attraction was not a place but a person: Joshua Norton, an eccentric resident who had declared himself emperor of the United States. Rather than shun him, the city took him to its heart, affectionately indulging his foibles for 21 years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the reign of Norton I and the meaning of madness. We'll also keep time with the Romans and puzzle over some rising temperatures. Intro: Amazon customers have been reviewing a gallon of milk since 2005. G.W. Blake patented a flyswatter pistol in 1919. Sources for our feature on Joshua Norton: William Drury, Norton I: Emperor of the United States , 1986. William M. Kramer, Emperor Norton of San Francisco , 1974. Catherine Caufield, The Emperor of the United States of America and Other Magnificent British Eccentrics , 1981. Benjamin E. Lloyd, Lights and Shades in San Francisco , 1876. Fred Dickey, "Norton I: Ruler of All He Imagined," American History 41:4 (October 2006), 65-66,68,70,6. Robert Ernest Cowan, "Norton I: Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico (Joshua A. Norton, 1819-1880)," California Historical Society Quarterly 2:3 (October 1923), 237-245. Eric Lis, "His Majesty's Psychosis: The Case of Emperor Joshua Norton," Academic Psychiatry 39:2 (April 2015), 181–185. Gary Kamiya, "How Emperor Norton Rose to Power," San Francisco Chronicle, April 1, 2017. "Street Characters of San Francisco," Overland Monthly 19:113 (May 1892), 449-459. "Death of an American Emperor," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper 49:1271 (Feb. 7, 1880), 428-429. "Emperor Norton," Sacramento Daily Record-Union , Jan. 26, 1880, 1. "Collections: The Emperor's Cane," California History 82:2 (2004), 3, 59. Alejandro Lazo and Daniel Huang
Mon, September 18, 2017
The Mechanical Turk
In 1770, Hungarian engineer Wolfgang von Kempelen unveiled a miracle: a mechanical man who could play chess against human challengers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Kempelen's Mechanical Turk, which mystified audiences in Europe and the United States for more than 60 years. We'll also sit down with Paul Erdős and puzzle over a useful amateur. Intro: Lewis Carroll sent a birthday wish list to child friend Jessie Sinclair in 1878. An octopus named Paul picked the winners of all seven of Germany’s World Cup games in 2010. Sources for our feature on the Mechanical Turk: Tom Standage, The Turk , 2002. Elizabeth Bridges, "Maria Theresa, 'The Turk,' and Habsburg Nostalgia," Journal of Austrian Studies 47:2 (Summer 2014), 17-36. Stephen P. Rice, "Making Way for the Machine: Maelzel's Automaton Chess-Player and Antebellum American Culture," Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society , Third Series, 106 (1994), 1-16. Dan Campbell, "'Echec': The Deutsches Museum Reconstructs the Chess-Playing Turk," Events and Sightings, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 26:2 (April-June 2004), 84-85. John F. Ohl and Joseph Earl Arrington, "John Maelzel, Master Showman of Automata and Panoramas," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 84:1 (January 1960), 56-92. James W. Cook Jr., "From the Age of Reason to the Age of Barnum: The Great Automaton Chess-Player and the Emergence of Victorian Cultural Illusionism," Winterthur Portfolio 30:4 (Winter 1995), 231-257. W.K. Wimsatt Jr., "Poe and the Chess Automaton," American Literature 11:2 (May 1939), 138-151. Peggy Aldrich Kidwell, "Playing Checkers With Machines -- From Ajeeb to Chinook," Information & Culture 50:4 (2015), 578-587. Brian P. Bloomfield and Theo Vurdubakis, "IBM's Chess Players: On AI and Its Supplements," Information Society 24 (2008), 69-82. Nathan Ensmenger, "Is Chess the Drosophila of Artificial Intelligence? A Social History of an Algorithm," Social Studies of Science 42:1 (February 2012), 5-30. Martin Kemp, "A Mechanical Mind," Nature 421:6920 (Jan. 16, 2003), 214. Marco Ernandes, "Artificial Intelligence & Games: Should Computational Psychology Be Revalued?" Topoi 24:2 (September 2005), 229–242. Brian P. Bloomfield and Theo Vurdubakis, "The Revenge of the Object? On Artificial Intelligence as a Cultural Enterprise," Social Analysis 41:1 (March 1997), 29-45. Mark Sussman, "Performing the Intelligent Mac
Mon, September 11, 2017
John Harrison and the Problem of Longitude
Ships need a reliable way to know their exact location at sea -- and for centuries, the lack of a dependable method caused shipwrecks and economic havoc for every seafaring nation. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet John Harrison, the self-taught English clockmaker who dedicated his life to crafting a reliable solution to this crucial problem. We'll also admire a dentist and puzzle over a magic bus stop. Intro: Working in an Antarctic tent in 1908, Douglas Mawson found himself persistently interrupted by Edgeworth David . In 1905, Sir Gilbert Parker claimed to have seen the astral body of Sir Crane Rasch in the House of Commons. Sources for our feature on John Harrison: Dava Sobel and William H. Andrews, The Illustrated Longitude , 1995. William J.H. Andrewes, ed., The Quest for Longitude , 1996. Katy Barrett, "'Explaining' Themselves: The Barrington Papers, the Board of Longitude, and the Fate of John Harrison," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 65:2 (June 20, 2011), 145-162. William E. Carter and Merri S. Carter, "The Age of Sail: A Time When the Fortunes of Nations and Lives of Seamen Literally Turned With the Winds Their Ships Encountered at Sea," Journal of Navigation 63:4 (October 2010), 717-731. J.A. Bennett, "Science Lost and Longitude Found: The Tercentenary of John Harrison," Journal for the History of Astronomy 24:4 (1993), 281-287. Arnold Wolfendale, "Shipwrecks, Clocks and Westminster Abbey: The Story of John Harrison," Historian 97 (Spring 2008), 14-17. William E. Carter and Merri Sue Carter, "The British Longitude Act Reconsidered," American Scientist 100:2 (March/April 2012), 102-105. Robin W. Spencer, "Open Innovation in the Eighteenth Century: The Longitude Problem," Research Technology Management 55:4 (July/August 2012), 39-43. "Longitude Found: John Harrison," Royal Museums Greenwich (accessed Aug. 27, 2017). "John Harrison," American Society of Mechanical Engineers (accessed Aug. 27, 2017). J.C. Taylor and A.W. Wolfendale, "John Harrison: Clockmaker and Copley Medalist," Notes and Records, Royal Society Journal of the History of Science , Jan. 22, 2007. An Act for the Encouragement of John Har
Mon, September 04, 2017
The Destruction of the Doves Type
In March 1913, Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson threw the most beautiful typeface in the world off of London's Hammersmith Bridge to keep it out of the hands of his estranged printing partner. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore what would lead a man to destroy the culmination of his life's work -- and what led one modern admirer to try to revive it. We'll also scrutinize a housekeeper and puzzle over a slumped child. Intro: Gustav Mahler rejected the Berlin Royal Opera because of the shape of his nose . In 1883, inventor Robert Heath enumerated the virtues of glowing hats . Sources for our feature on the Doves Press: Marianne Tidcombe, The Doves Press , 2002. The Journals of Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson , 1926. "The Doves Press" -- A Kelmscott Revival," New York Times , Feb. 16, 1901, BR9. "The Revival of Printing as an Art," New York Tribune , Sept. 14, 1901, 11. "The Doves Press Bible," Guardian , March 10, 1904. "The Doves Press," Athenaeum , Jan. 12, 1907, 54-54. "The Doves Press," Athenaeum , June 13, 1908, 729-730. Dissolution of the partnership , London Gazette , July 27, 1909, 5759. "Doves Press Type in River: Memoirs of T.C. Sanderson Tell How He Disposed of It," New York Times , Sept. 8, 1926, 27. Arthur Millier, "Bookbinding Art Proves Inspiration: Doves Press Exhibit Reveals Devotion to Lofty Ideals," Los Angeles Times , April 2, 1933, A2. Charles B. Russell, "Cobden-Sanderson and the Doves Press," Prairie Schooner 14:3 (Fall 1940), 180-192. Carole Cable, "The Printing Types of the Doves Press: Their History and Destruction," Library Quarterly 44:3 (July 1974), 219-230. Marcella D. Genz, "The Doves Press [review]," Library Quarterly 74:1 (January 2004), 91-94. "Biographies of the Key Figures Involved in the Doves Press," International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, Dec. 22, 2009. <a href= "https://www.atyp
Mon, August 28, 2017
A Manhattan Murder Mystery
In May 1920, wealthy womanizer Joseph Elwell was found shot to death alone in his locked house in upper Manhattan. The police identified hundreds of people who might have wanted Elwell dead, but they couldn't quite pin the crime on any of them. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the sensational murder that the Chicago Tribune called "one of the toughest mysteries of all times." We'll also learn a new use for scuba gear and puzzle over a sympathetic vandal. Intro: The Dodgers, Yankees, and Giants played a three-way baseball game in 1944. Avon, Colorado, has a bridge called Bob . Sources for our feature on Joseph Elwell: Jonathan Goodman, The Slaying of Joseph Bowne Elwell , 1987. Joseph Bowne Elwell, Bridge, Its Principles and Rules of Play , 1903 "J.B. Elwell, Whist Expert and Race Horse Owner, Slain," New York Times , June 12, 1920, 1. "Seek Young Woman in Elwell Mystery," New York Times , June 13, 1920, 14. "Scour City Garages for Elwell Clue," New York Times , June 14, 1920, 1. "'Woman in Black' at the Ritz Enters Elwell Mystery," New York Times , June 16, 1920, 1. "Two Men and Women Hunted in New Trail for Slayer of Elwell," New York Tribune , June 16, 1920, 1. "Housekeeper Admits Shielding Woman by Hiding Garments in Elwell Home," New York Times , June 17, 1920, 1. "Mrs. Elwell Bares Divorce Project," New York Times , June 17, 1920, 1. "Swann Baffled at Every Turn in Elwell Mystery," New York Times , June 19, 1920, 1. "'Mystery Girl in Elwell Case Is Found," Washington Times , June 19, 1920, 1. "Elwell, Discarding Palm Beach Woman, Revealed Threats," New York Times , June 20, 1920, 1. "Elwell, the Man of Many Masks," New York Times , June 20, 1920, 12. "Elwell Traced to Home at 2:30 on Day of Murder," New York Times , June 21, 1920, 1. <
Mon, August 21, 2017
A Dangerous Voyage
After Japan invaded the Philippines in 1941 two American servicemen hatched a desperate plan to sail 3,000 miles to Allied Australia in a 20-foot wooden fishing boat. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll join Rocky Gause and William Osborne as they struggle to avoid the Japanese and reach safety. We'll also tell time in Casablanca and puzzle over a towing fatality. Intro: H.M. Small patented a hammock for railway passenger cars in 1889. The clock face on the Marienkirche in Bergen auf Rügen, Germany, has 61 minutes. Sources for our feature on Damon Gause: Damon Gause, The War Journal of Major Damon "Rocky" Gause , 1999. William L. Osborne, Voyage into the Wind , 2013. Stephan Wilkinson, "10 Great POW Escapes," Military History 28:4 (November 2011), 28-33,5. "Two U.S. Officers Flee Philippines By a 159-Day Journey to Australia," New York Times , Oct. 20, 1942, 6. "Bataan-to-Australia Escape Takes 159 Days," Los Angeles Times , Oct. 20, 1942, 1. "U.S. Officers in Australia After Fleeing Philippines," New York Times , Oct. 24, 1942, 5. "Angry Officer Who Fled Luzon Tells Odyssey," Los Angeles Times , Nov. 4, 1942, A1. "Crash Kills Gause, Who Fled Bataan," New York Times , March 17, 1944, 7. Mark Pino, "Bataan Survivors Meet, Share Stories of Strength," Orlando Sentinel , May 4, 1997, 1. Tunku Varadarajan, "Bidding War for Diary of Great Escape," Times , May 8, 1998, 20. David Usborne, "Hero's Voyage Ends in Hollywood," Independent , May 9, 1998, 13. Don O'Briant, "Georgia Officer's Great Escape to Get Hollywood Treatment," Atlanta Constitution , March 4, 1999, 1. Mark Pino, "War Hero's Tribute Marching On," Orlando Sentinel , April 21, 1999, 1. Bill Baab, "Journal Documents Great Escapes During War," Augusta Chronicle , Jan. 16, 2000, F5. Christopher Dickey, "The Great Escape," New York Times , Jan. 23, 2000. Don O'Briant, "Veterans Day: Sons Relive WWII Tale of Perilous Getaway," Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Nov. 11, 2001, 1. "The Firsthand Account of One of the Greatest Escapes of World War II," Book TV, CSPAN2, 2000. Robert E. Hood, "The Incredible Escape," Boys' Life , May 2002. Chris Petrikin and Benedict Carver
Mon, August 14, 2017
A Case of Mistaken Identity
In 1896, Adolf Beck found himself caught up in a senseless legal nightmare: Twelve women from around London insisted that he'd deceived them and stolen their cash and jewelry. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Beck's incredible ordeal, which ignited a scandal and inspired historic reforms in the English justice system. We'll also covet some noble socks and puzzle over a numerical sacking. Intro: A 1631 edition of the Bible omitted not in "Thou shalt not commit adultery." When the first hydrogen balloon landed in 1783, frightened villagers attacked it with pitchforks . Sources for our feature on Adolph Beck: Tim Coates, The Strange Story of Adolph Beck , 1999. Jim Morris, The Who's Who of British Crime , 2015. "An English Dreyfus," Goodwin's Weekly , Sept. 22, 1904, 6. "Police Effort Was Tragedy," [Grand Forks, N.D.] Evening Times , Dec. 24, 1909, 1. "Errors of English Court," Holt County [Mo.] Sentinel , Dec. 2, 1904, 2. "England's Dreyfus Case Is at an End," [Scotland, S.D.] Citizen-Republican , Dec. 1, 1904, 3. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a Detective in Real Life," New York Sun , May 31, 1914, 3. <a href= "http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042400/1904-08-13/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1789&sort=re
Mon, August 07, 2017
Vigil on the Ice
In 1930, British explorer Augustine Courtauld volunteered to spend the winter alone on the Greenland ice cap, manning a remote weather station. As the snow gradually buried his hut and his supplies steadily dwindled, his relief party failed to arrive. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Courtauld's increasingly desperate vigil on the ice. We'll also retreat toward George III and puzzle over some unexpected evidence. Intro: Rudyard Kipling hid messages in his illustrations for the Just So Stories . In the early 1900s, Danes bred pigs colored to resemble the Danish flag . Sources for our feature on Augustine Courtauld: Nicholas Wollaston, The Man on the Ice Cap , 1980. Mollie Butler, August and Rab , 1987. "Augustine Courtauld," Encyclopedia Arctica (accessed July 23, 2017). "Augustine Courtauld," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (accessed July 23, 2017). "The British Arctic Air Route Expedition," Geographical Journal 76:1 (July 1930), 67-68. "British Air Route to the Arctic Regions," Science , New Series, 72:1857 (Aug. 1, 1930), 108-109. "Swedish Flier Ready to Hop for Greenland to Rescue Courtauld, Young British Explorer," New York Times , April 27, 1931, 4. Svend Carstensen, "Ahrenberg to Start Rescue Flight Today," New York Times , April 29, 1931, 12. Svend Carstensen, "Ahrenberg on Way to Save Courtauld, Lost in Greenland," New York Times , April 30, 1931, 1. "Rescuers Race to Locate Lost Arctic Explorer," China Press , May 2, 1931, 13. E. Lemon, "Plane in Greenland to Hunt Courtauld," New York Times , May 3, 1931, 2. Percy Lemon, "Ahrenberg Ready to Fly to Ice Cap," New York Times , May 5, 1931, 6. "Courtauld Hunted by Sea, Air And Land: Area of Great Arctic Search," New York Times , May 8, 1931, 12. "Courtauld Rescued," Los Angeles Times , May 8, 1931, 3. Percy Lemon, "Courtauld Is Found Safe on the Greenland Ice Cap," New York Times , May 8, 1931, 1. Albin Ahrenberg, "Ahrenberg to Guide Courtauld To Camp," New York Times , May 9, 1931, 1. Percy Lemon, "Courtauld Back Safely on Greenland Coast," New York Times , May 12, 1931, 1. H.G. Watkins, "Courtauld Search a Surprise to Him," New York Times , May 14, 1931, 12. "Courtauld Buried in Igloo 2 Months," Associated Press, May 15, 1931. "Arctic Burial Escape Told," <e
Mon, July 31, 2017
Enslaved in the Sahara
In 1815 an American ship ran aground in northwestern Africa, and its crew were enslaved by merciless nomads. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the desperate efforts of Captain James Riley to find a way to cross the Sahara and beg for help from Western officials in Morocco. We'll also wade through more molasses and puzzle over a prospective guitar thief. Intro: In 1972 archaeologists in northwestern Iran found evidence of one couple's tender final moment . An anonymous author recast "A Visit From St. Nicholas" in legal language . Sources for our feature on James Riley: Dean King, Skeletons on the Zahara , 2004. James Riley, An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce , 1817. Archibald Robbins, A Journal, Comprising an Account of the Loss of the Brig Commerce, of Hartford Conn. , 1847. James Riley and William Willshire Riley, Sequel to Riley's Narrative , 1851. Robert J. Allison, The Crescent Obscured: The United States and the Muslim World , 1776-1815, 1995. Christine E. Sears, American Slaves and African Masters , 2012. Paul Baepler, ed., White Slaves, African Masters: An Anthology of American Barbary Captivity Narratives , 1999. Eamonn Gearon, The Sahara: A Cultural History , 2011. Dean King, "The Cruelest Journey," National Geographic Adventure 6:1 (February 2004), 46. Paul Michel Baepler, "The Barbary Captivity Narrative in American Culture," Early American Literature 39:2 (2004), 217-246. Sven D. Outram-Leman, "Alexander Scott: Constructing a Legitimate Geography of the Sahara From a Captivity Narrative, 1821," History in Africa 43 (2016), 63-94. Gordon M. Sayre, "Renegades From Barbary: The Transnational Turn in Captivity Studies," American Literary History 22:2 (Summer 2010), 347-359. Glenn James Voelz, "Images of Enemy and Self in the Age of Jefferson: The Barbary Conflict in Popular Literary Depiction," War & Society 28:2 (2009), 21-47. Hester Blum, "Pirated Tars, Piratical Texts: Barbary Captivity and American Sea Narratives," Early American Studies 1:2 (Fall 20
Mon, July 17, 2017
John Muir and Stickeen
One stormy morning in 1880, naturalist John Muir set out to explore a glacier in Alaska's Taylor Bay, accompanied by an adventurous little dog that had joined his expedition. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the harrowing predicament that the two faced on the ice, which became the basis of one of Muir's most beloved stories. We'll also marvel at some phonetic actors and puzzle over a season for vasectomies. Intro: In 1904 a 12-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien sent this rebus to a family friend. In 1856 Preston Brooks beat Charles Sumner with a gold-headed cane on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Sources for our feature on John Muir and Stickeen: John Muir, Stickeen , 1909. Ronald H. Limbaugh, John Muir's "Stickeen" and the Lessons of Nature , 1996. Kim Heacox, John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire , 2014. Ronald H. Limbaugh, "Stickeen and the Moral Education of John Muir," Environmental History Review 15:1 (Spring 1991), 25-45. Hal Crimmel, "No Place for 'Little Children and Tender, Pulpy People': John Muir in Alaska," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 92:4 (Fall 2001), 171-180. Stefan Beck, "The Outdoor Kid," New Criterion 33:4 (December 2014), 1-6. Edward Hoagland, "John Muir's Alaskan Rhapsody," American Scholar 71:2 (Spring 2002), 101-105. Ronald H. Limbaugh, "John Muir and Modern Environmental Education," California History 71:2 (Summer 1992), 170-177. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "John Muir" (accessed July 2, 2017). "John Muir: Naturalist," Journal of Education 81:6 (Feb. 11, 1915), 146. William Frederic Badè, "John Muir," Science 41:1053 (March 5, 1915), 353-354. Charles R. Van Hise, "John Muir," Science 45:1153 (Feb. 2, 1917), 103-109. Listener mail: Delta Spirit, "Ballad of Vitaly." Wikipedia, " Aftermath (2017 Film)" (accessed July 14, 2017). Wikipedia, "Überlingen Mid-Air Collision" (accessed July 14, 2017). Anthony Breznican, "'The Princess Bride': 10 Inconceivable Facts From Director Rob Reiner," Entertainment Weekly , Aug. 16, 2013. W
Mon, July 10, 2017
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
In 1971 high school student Juliane Koepcke fell two miles into the Peruvian rain forest when her airliner broke up in a thunderstorm. Miraculously, she survived the fall, but her ordeal was just beginning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Juliane's arduous trek through the jungle in search of civilization and help. We'll also consider whether goats are unlucky and puzzle over the shape of doorknobs. Intro: Before writing about time machines, H.G. Wells calculated that he'd earned a single pound in his writing endeavors . In 1868, as an engineering trainee, Robert Louis Stevenson explored the foundation of a breakwater at Wick . Sources for our feature on Juliane Koepcke: Juliane Diller, When I Fell From the Sky , 2011. "She Lived and 91 Others Died," Life 72:3 (Jan. 28, 1972), 38. "Jungle Trek: Survivor of Crash Tells of Struggle," Los Angeles Times , Jan. 6, 1972, A11. "Didn't Want to Steal: Survivor of Crash Passed Up Canoe," Los Angeles Times , Jan. 9, 1972, A7. Jennings Parrott, "The Newsmakers: It's Back to School for Peru Survivor," Los Angeles Times , March 20, 1972, A2. Werner Herzog, Wings of Hope , 2000. Dan Koeppel, "Taking a Fall," Popular Mechanics , February 2010. Jason Daley, "I Will Survive," Outside 29:9 (Sept. 1, 2004), 64. Stephan Wilkinson, "Amazing But True Stories," Aviation History , May 2014. Tom Littlewood, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," Vice, Sept. 2, 2010. "Juliane Koepcke: How I Survived a Plane Crash," BBC News, March 24, 2012. Frederik Pleitgen, "Survivor Still Haunted by 1971 Air Crash," CNN, July 2, 2009. Sally Williams, "Sole Survivor: The Woman Who Fell to Earth," Telegraph , March 22, 2012. Katherine MacDonald, "Survival Stories: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky," Reader's Digest (a
Mon, July 03, 2017
The Birmingham Sewer Lion
Birmingham, England, faced a surprising crisis in 1889: A lion escaped a traveling menagerie and took up residence in the city's sewers, terrifying the local population. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll descend into the tunnels with Frank Bostock, the 21-year-old manager who set out to capture the desperate beast. We'll also revisit a cosmic mystery and puzzle over an incomprehensible language. Intro: Historian Bell Wiley collected the misspellings of Confederate soldiers. The minuet in Haydn's Piano Sonata in A Major is a palindrome. Sources for our feature on the Birmingham lion escape: "The Escape of Lions From the Menagerie at Birmingham," Graphic , Oct. 5, 1889, 412. "A Lion Hunt in Birmingham," Graphic 40:1036 (Oct. 5, 1889), 407. "Hunting a Lion in a Sewer," New York Times , Oct. 20, 1889, 9. "Lion Hunting in Birmingham," Scientific American Supplement , No. 724 (Nov. 16, 1889), 11568. "Lion-Hunting in Birmingham," Poverty Bay (New Zealand) Herald , 16:5625 (Nov. 21, 1889), 3. Frank Charles Bostock, The Training of Wild Animals , 1903. Frank C. Bostock and H.J. Shepstone, "A Lion-Hunt in a Sewer," Wide World Magazine 21:126 (October 1908), 523-529. Frank C. Bostock, "The Tightest Corner I Was Ever In," Boys' Life 1:4 (June 1911), 44-46. Will Oliphant, "The Lion Tamer of Birmingham," Birmingham Evening Mail , July 31, 2010, 3. Helen Cowie, "Philadelphia Zebras: Six Great Animal Escapes of the Victorian Era," Independent , Nov. 17, 2015. Ben Hurst, "Panic on Streets as Circus Lion Runs Free," Birmingham Evening Mail , Nov. 27, 2015. Bethan Bell, "When a Lion Prowled the Streets of Birmingham," BBC News, May 14, 2017. <img src= "https://www.futilitycloset.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2017-07-03-podcast-episode-160-the-birmingham-sewer-lion-2.jpg" alt="" wi
Mon, June 26, 2017
The Mozart of Mathematics
Mathematician Paul Erdős had no home, no job, and no hobbies. Instead, for 60 years he wandered the world, staying with each of hundreds of collaborators just long enough to finish a project, and then moving on. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet the "magician of Budapest," whose restless brilliance made him the most prolific mathematician of the 20th century. We'll also ponder Japanese cannibalism in World War II and puzzle over a senseless stabbing. Intro: Elbert Hubbard published 12 blank pages in 1905. A duck spent 18 months in the U.S. 2nd Marine Division in 1943. Sources for our feature on Paul Erdős: Paul Hoffman, The Man Who Loved Only Numbers , 1999. The magisterial biography of Erdős. The first chapter is here. Bruce Schechter, My Brain Is Open , 2000. Béla Bollobás, "Paul Erdős (1913-96)," Nature , 383:6601 (Oct. 17, 1996), 584. Melvin Henriksen, "Reminiscences of Paul Erdős," Mathematical Association of America (accessed June 10, 2017). László Babai, Carl Pomerance, and Péter Vértesi, "The Mathematics of Paul Erdős," Notices of the AMS 45:1 (January 1998). László Babai and Joel Spencer, "Paul Erdős (1913–1996)," Notices of the AMS 45:1 (January 1998). Ronald L. Graham, Jaroslav Nesetril, Steve Butler, eds., The Mathematics of Paul Erdős , 2013. Rodrigo De Castro and Jerrold W. Grossman, "Famous Trails to Paul Erdős," Mathematical Intelligencer 21:3 (January 1999), 51–53. Bruce Torrence and Ron Graham, "The 100th Birthday of Paul Erdős/Remembering Erdős," Math Horizons 20:4 (April 2013), 10-12. Krishnaswami Alladi et al., "Reflections on Paul Erdős on His Birth Centenary," Parts I and II, Notices of the American Mathematical Society 62:2 and 62:3 (February and March 2015). Béla Bollobás, "To Prove and Conjecture: Paul Erdős and His Mathematics," American Mathematical Monthly 105:3 (March 1998), 209-237. "Information About Paul Erdős (1913-1996)," Oakland University (accessed June 13, 2017). Calla Cofield, "An Arbitrary Number of Years Since Mathematician Paul Erdős's Birth,
Mon, June 19, 2017
The Mistress of Murder Farm
Belle Gunness was one of America's most prolific female serial killers, luring lonely men to her Indiana farm with promises of marriage, only to rob and kill them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of The LaPorte Black Widow and learn about some of her unfortunate victims. We'll also break back into Buckingham Palace and puzzle over a bet with the devil. Intro: Lee Sallows offered this clueless crossword in November 2015 -- can you solve it? Souvenir hunters stole a rag doll from the home where Lee surrendered to Grant. Sources for our feature on Belle Gunness: Janet L. Langlois, Belle Gunness , 1985. Richard C. Lindberg, Heartland Serial Killers , 2011. Ted Hartzell, "Belle Gunness' Poisonous Pen," American History 3:2 (June 2008), 46-51. Amanda L. Farrell, Robert D. Keppel, and Victoria B. Titterington, "Testing Existing Classifications of Serial Murder Considering Gender: An Exploratory Analysis of Solo Female Serial Murderers," Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 10:3 (October 2013), 268-288. Kristen Kridel, "Children's Remains Exhumed in 100-Year-Old Murder Mystery," Chicago Tribune , May 14, 2008. Dan McFeely, "DNA to Help Solve Century-Old Case," Indianapolis Star , Jan. 6, 2008. Kristen Kridel, "Bones of Children Exhumed," Chicago Tribune , May 14, 2008. Ted Hartzell, "Did Belle Gunness Really Die in LaPorte?" South Bend [Ind.] Tribune , Nov. 18, 2007. Edward Baumann and John O'Brien, "Hell's Belle," Chicago Tribune , March 1, 1987. Associated Press, "Authorities Question Identity of Suspect in Matrimonial Farm," St. Petersburg [Fla.] Evening Independent , July 18, 1930. "Hired Hand on Murder Farm," Bryan [Ohio] Democrat , Jan. 11, 1910. "The First Photographs of the 'American Siren' Affair: Detectives and Others at Work on Mrs. Belle Gunness's Farm," <
Mon, June 12, 2017
The Brutal History of Batavia's Graveyard
In 1629, a Dutch trading vessel struck a reef off the coast of Australia, marooning 180 people on a tiny island. As they struggled to stay alive, their leader descended into barbarity, gathering a band of cutthroats and killing scores of terrified castaways. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll document the brutal history of Batavia's graveyard, the site of Australia's most infamous shipwreck. We'll also lose money in India and puzzle over some invisible Frenchmen. Intro: In 1946, an Allied dentist inscribed "Remember Pearl Harbor" on Hideki Tojo's dentures. Sigourney Weaver named herself after a character in The Great Gatsby . Sources for our feature on the Batavia mutiny: Mike Dash, Batavia's Graveyard , 2002. Mike Sturma, "Mutiny and Narrative: Francisco Pelsaert's Journals and the Wreck of the Batavia," The Great Circle 24:1 (2002), 14-24. "We Are Still on the Batavia," Queen's Quarterly 12:4 (Winter 2005), 489. Bruce Bennett, "Politics and Spying: Representations of Pre- and Early Australia," Antipodes 22:1 (June 2008), 17-22. "Batavia," Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia , 1997, 52-53. D. Franklin, "Human Skeletal Remains From a Multiple Burial Associated With the Mutiny of the VOC Retourschip Batavia, 1629," International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 22:6 (Jan. 19, 2011), 740-748. Michael Titlestad, "'Changed as to a Tiger': Considering the Wreck of the Batavia," Antipodes 27:2 (December 2013), 149-156. Mark Staniforth, "Murder and Mayhem," dig 8:4 (April 2006), 20-21. Christopher Bray, "The Wreck of the Batavia [review]," Financial Times , Aug 17, 2007. "Batavia's History," Western Australian Museum (accessed May 28, 2017). Sarah Taillier, "Unearthed Grave Sheds Light on Batavia Shipwreck Mass Murder," Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Feb. 3, 2015. "Australia Dig Unearths Batavia Mutiny Skeleton," BBC News, Feb. 4, 2015. Libby-Jane Charleston, "The Batavia Mutiny and Massacre of 1629 Is Still Revealing Secrets," Huffington Post, July
Mon, June 05, 2017
The Most Dedicated Soldier
When American forces overran the Philippine island of Lubang in 1945, Japanese intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda withdrew into the mountains to wait for reinforcements. He was still waiting 29 years later. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet the dedicated soldier who fought World War II until 1974. We'll also dig up a murderer and puzzle over an offensive compliment. Intro: In 1896, Austrian engineers designed a mountain railway pulled by a balloon. In 1965 Kingsley Amis inventoried Ian Fleming's unsavory descriptions of M. Sources for our feature on Hiroo Onoda: Hiroo Onoda, No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War , 1974. Mark Felton, "The Soldiers Who Would Not Surrender," World War II 18:4 (November 2003), 18. Robert D. McFadden, "Hiroo Onoda, Soldier Who Hid in Jungle for Decades, Dies at 91," New York Times , Jan. 17, 2014. Adam Bernstein, "Hiroo Onoda, Japanese Soldier Who Hid in Philippine Jungle for 29 Years, Dies at 91," Washington Post , Jan. 17, 2014. David Powers, "Japan: No Surrender in World War Two," BBC, Feb. 17, 2011. "Last Man Fighting: Hiroo Onoda," Economist 410:8871 (Jan. 25, 2014). "Hiroo Onoda - Obituary," Telegraph , Jan. 17, 2014. Justin McCurry, "Hiroo Onoda: Japanese Soldier Who Took Three Decades to Surrender, Dies," Guardian , Jan. 17, 2014. "Japan WW2 Soldier Who Refused to Surrender Hiroo Onoda Dies," BBC News, Jan. 17, 2014. Jethro Mullen, Yoko Wakatsuki and Chandrika Narayan, "Hiroo Onoda, Japanese Soldier Who Long Refused to Surrender, Dies at 91," CNN, Jan. 17, 2014. Noah Rayman, "Hiroo Onoda, World's 'Last Ninja', Dead at 91," Time.com, Jan. 21, 2013. Mike Dash, <a href= "https://mikedashhistory.com/2015/09/15/final-straggler-the-japa
Mon, May 29, 2017
The Giraffe Who Walked to Paris
In 1824 the viceroy of Egypt sent a unique gift to the new king of France: a two-month-old giraffe that had just been captured in the highlands of Sudan. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the 4,000-mile journey of Zarafa, the royal giraffe, from her African homeland to the king's menagerie in Paris. We'll also visit Queen Victoria's coronation and puzzle over a child's surprising recovery. Intro: In 1952 a stray cat made a home in Classroom 8 of a California elementary school . Abe Lincoln's ghost seems to spend a lot of time in the Lincoln Bedroom . Sources for our feature on Zarafa the giraffe: Michael Allin, Zarafa , 1998. Erik Ringmar, "Audience for a Giraffe: European Expansionism and the Quest for the Exotic," Journal of World History 17:4 (December 2006), 375-397. Heather J. Sharkey, " La Belle Africaine : The Sudanese Giraffe Who Went to France," Canadian Journal of African Studies 49:1 (2015), 39-65. Olivier Lagueux, "Geoffroy's Giraffe: The Hagiography of a Charismatic Mammal," Journal of the History of Biology , 36:2 (June 2003), 225–247. Samuel J.M.M. Alberti, "Objects and the Museum," Isis 96:4 (December 2005), 559-571. Philip McCouat, "The Art of Giraffe Diplomacy: How an African Giraffe Walked Across France and Became a Pawn in an International Power Struggle," Journal of Art in Society (accessed May 14, 2017). Olivier Lagueux, " Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, From Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris [review]," Isis 92:1 (March 2001), 186-187. S. Mary P. Benbow, "Death and Dying at the Zoo," Journal of Popular Culture 37:3 (2004), 379-398. Elena Passarello, "Beautiful Animal of the King," Paris Review , Dec. 20, 2016. Henry Nicholls, "Meet Zarafa, the Giraffe That Inspired a Crazy Hairdo," Guardian , Jan. 20, 2014. Olivier Lebleu, "Long-Necked Diplomacy: The Tale of the Third Giraffe," Guardian , Jan. 11, 2016. <img src= "https://www.futilitycloset.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-05-29-podcast-episode-155-the-giraffe-who-walked-to-paris-2.jpg" alt="" width="496"
Mon, May 22, 2017
Spared by a Volcano
The worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century struck Martinique in 1902, killing 30,000 people in the scenic town of Saint-Pierre. But rescuers found one man alive -- a 27-year-old laborer in a dungeon-like jail cell. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Ludger Sylbaris, who P.T. Barnum called "The Only Living Object That Survived in the Silent City of Death." We'll also address some Indian uncles and puzzle over a gruesome hike. Intro: The French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur is published only on Leap Day . When a vat burst in 1814, 323,000 imperial gallons of beer flooded a London street . Sources for our feature on Ludger Sylbaris: Peter Morgan, Fire Mountain , 2003. Edmund Otis Hovey, The 1902-1903 Eruptions of Mont Pelé, Martinique and the Soufrière, St. Vincent , 1904. Ludger Sylbaris, "Buried Alive in St. Pierre," Wide World Magazine , November 1903. Matthew St. Ville Hunte, "Inside the Volcano," Paris Review , Sept. 16, 2016. "Prison Cell of 'The Man Who Lived Through Doomsday,'" Slate , July 31, 2013. Brian Morton, "There's No Smoke Without Fire," Financial Times , Feb. 13, 2003. Tony Jones, "Lone Survivor," New Scientist 177:2382 (Feb. 15, 2003), 48-49. "[front page -- no title]," New York Times , Oct. 13, 1906. Listener mail: Kate Connolly, "He's Hired: Belgian Lands 'Dream Job' as Hermit for Austrian Cliffside Retreat," Guardian , April 19, 2017. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent two sets of corroborating links -- these contain explicit photos , and these <a href= "http://www.bbc.com/
Mon, May 15, 2017
A Victorian Stalker
Between 1838 and 1841, an enterprising London teenager broke repeatedly into Buckingham Palace, sitting on the throne, eating from the kitchen, and posing a bewildering nuisance to Queen Victoria's courtiers, who couldn't seem to keep him out. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the exploits of Edward Jones -- and the severe measures that were finally taken to stop them. We'll also salute some confusing flags and puzzle over an extraterrestrial musician. Intro: Tourists who remove rocks from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park face a legendary curse . Periodicals of the 19th century featured at least two cats that got along on two legs . Sources for our feature on "the boy Jones": Jan Bondeson, Queen Victoria's Stalker: The Strange Case of the Boy Jones , 2011. Joan Howard, The Boy Jones , 1943. Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria , 1921. John Ashton, Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign , 1903. Thomas Raikes, A Portion of the Journal Kept by Thomas Raikes, Esq., from 1831 to 1847 , vol. 4, 136. Paul Thomas Murphy, "Jones, Edward," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (accessed April 22, 2017). "The Boy Jones," Examiner 1750 (Aug. 14, 1841), 524-524. "The Boy Jones," Court and Lady's Magazine, Monthly Critic and Museum 21 (September 1841), 223-225. Punch , July–December 1841. "Occurrences," Examiner 1793 (June 11, 1842), 381-381. "The Boy Jones," Reynold's Miscellany of Romance, General Literature, Science, and Art 17:424 (Aug. 23, 1856), 56. "The Boy Jones," All the Year Round 34:814 (July 5, 1884), 234-237. "The Latest News of the Boy Jones," Examiner 1902 (July 13, 1844), 434-434. "Palace Intruder Stayed 3 Days and Sat on Throne," Globe and Mail , July 21, 1982. "Strange Tale of the First Royal Stalker," Express , Nov. 6, 2010, 14. "Story of Boy Jones Who Stole Queen Victoria's Underwear," BBC News, Feb. 2, 2011. Helen Turner, "Royal Rumpus of First Celebrity Stalker," South Wales Echo , Feb. 3, 2011, 26. Jan Bondeson, <a href= "http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/208717/The-strange-tale-of-
Mon, May 01, 2017
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are five new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a couple of places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was contributed by listener Dave Lawrence. Puzzle #2 is from listener Michael Berman. Puzzle #3 is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles , 1998. Puzzle #4 is from listener Paul Sophocleous. Here are two associated links . Puzzle #5 is from listener Noah Kurland. Here's an associated link . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, April 24, 2017
Double-Crossing the Nazis
In 1941, Catalonian chicken farmer Juan Pujol made an unlikely leap into the world of international espionage, becoming a spy first for the Germans, then for the British, and rising to become one of the greatest double agents of World War II. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Pujol's astonishing talent for deceiving the Nazis, which led one colleague to call him "the best actor in the world." We'll also contemplate a floating Chicago and puzzle over a winding walkway. Intro: In 1999, Kevin Baugh declared his Nevada house an independent republic . Foxie the dog stayed by her master's side for three months after his hiking death in 1805. Sources for our feature on Juan Pujol: Juan Pujol, Operation Garbo , 1985. Jason Webster, The Spy With 29 Names , 2014. Tomás Harris, Garbo: The Spy Who Saved D-Day , 2000. Stephan Talty, Agent Garbo , 2012. Thomas M. Kane, Understanding Contemporary Strategy , 2012. David C. Isby, "Double Agent's D-Day Victory," World War II 19:3 (June 2004), 18,20. Marc De Santis, "Overlooked Reasons Overlord Succeeded," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 26:4 (Summer 2014), 15-16. David Kahn, "How I Discovered World War II's Greatest Spy," Cryptologia 34:1 (December 2009), 12-21. Stephen Budiansky, "The Art of the Double Cross," World War II 24:1 (May 2009), 38-45,4. Kevin D. Kornegay, "Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies," Army Lawyer , April 2014, 40-43. Gene Santoro, "Harbor of Hope and Intrigue," World War II 26:2 (July/August 2011), 26-28. P.R.J. Winter, "Penetrating Hitler's High Command: Anglo-Polish HUMINT, 1939-1945," War in History 18:1 (January 2011), 85-108. Neville Wylie, "'An Amateur Learns his Job'? Special Operations Executive in Portugal, 1940–42," Journal of Contemporary History 36:3 (July 2001), 441-457. "An Unexpected Threat to the Normandy Invasion," World War II 31:5 (January/February 2017), 16. "'Agent Garbo,' The Spy Who Lied About D-Day," All Things Considered , National Public Radio, July 7, 2012. Tom Morgan, "Revealed: How a Homesick Wife Nearly Blew It for the British Double Agent Who Fooled Hitler," Telegraph , Sept. 28,
Mon, April 17, 2017
The Prince of Nowhere
In 1821, Scottish adventurer Gregor MacGregor undertook one of the most brazen scams in history: He invented a fictional Central American republic and convinced hundreds of his countrymen to invest in its development. Worse, he persuaded 250 people to set sail for this imagined utopia with dreams of starting a new life. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the disastrous results of MacGregor's deceit. We'll also illuminate a hermit's behavior and puzzle over Liechtenstein's flag. Intro: In 1878, a neurologist noted that French-Canadian lumberjacks tended to startle violently . Each year on Valentine's Day, someone secretly posts paper hearts in Montpelier, Vt. Sources for our feature on Gregor MacGregor: David Sinclair, Sir Gregor MacGregor and the Land That Never Was , 2003. Matthew Brown, "Inca, Sailor, Soldier, King: Gregor MacGregor and the Early Nineteenth-Century Caribbean," Bulletin of Latin American Research 24:1 (January 2005), 44-70. T. Frederick Davis, "MacGregor's Invasion of Florida, 1817," Florida Historical Society Quarterly 7:1 (July 1928), 2-71. Emily Beaulieu, Gary W. Cox, and Sebastian Saiegh, "Sovereign Debt and Regime Type: Reconsidering the Democratic Advantage," International Organization 66:4 (Fall 2012), 709-738. R.A. Humphreys, "Presidential Address: Anglo-American Rivalries in Central America," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 18 (1968), 174-208. Courtenay de Kalb, "Nicaragua: Studies on the Mosquito Shore in 1892," Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York 25:1 (1893), 236-288. A.R. Hope Moncrieff, "Gregor MacGregor," Macmillan's Magazine 92:551 (September 1905), 339-350. "The King of Con-Men," Economist 405:8816 (Dec. 22, 2012), 109-112. "Sir Gregor MacGregor," Quebec Gazette , Oct. 18, 1827. Guardian , "From the Archive, 25 October 1823: Settlers Duped Into Believing in 'Land Flowing With Milk and Honey,'" Oct. 25, 2013. Maria Konnikova, "The Con Man
Mon, April 10, 2017
The North Pond Hermit
Without any forethought or preparation, Christopher Knight walked into the Maine woods in 1986 and lived there in complete solitude for the next 27 years, subsisting on what he was able to steal from local cabins. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the North Pond hermit, one man's attempt to divorce himself completely from civilization. We'll also look for coded messages in crosswords and puzzle over an ineffective snake. Intro: Disneyland's Matterhorn contains a basketball goal . Two tombstones in the Netherlands "hold hands" across a cemetery wall . Sources for our feature on the North Pond hermit: Michael Finkel, "Into the Woods: How One Man Survived Alone in the Wilderness for 27 Years," Guardian , March 15, 2017. Associated Press, "Christopher Knight: Inside the Maine Hermit's Lair," April 12, 2013. "Hermit Caught After 27 Years in Maine Woods," Guardian , April 11, 2013. Wikipedia, "Christopher Thomas Knight" (accessed April 6, 2017). Nathaniel Rich, "Lessons of the Hermit," Atlantic , April 2017. Michael Finkel, "The 27-Year Hunt for Maine's North Pond Hermit," Toronto Star , March 26, 2017. Betty Adams, "'North Pond Hermit' Knight Balks at Paying Costs Related to His Remote Campsite," Kennebec Journal , April 26, 2016. Craig Crosby, "After 27 Years of Burglaries, 'North Pond Hermit' Is Arrested," Kennebec Journal , April 9, 2013. Brian MacQuarrie, "In Rural Maine, a Life of Solitude and Larceny," Boston Globe , May 26, 2013. Michael
Mon, April 03, 2017
The Perfect Murder
Insurance agent William Herbert Wallace had a terrible night in January 1931 -- summoned to a nonexistent address in Liverpool, he returned home to find that his wife had been murdered in his absence. An investigation seemed to show a senseless crime with no weapon, no motive, and no likely suspects. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll revisit the slaying of Julia Wallace, which Raymond Chandler called "the impossible murder." We'll also recount some wobbly oaths and puzzle over an eccentric golfer. Intro: In the 1960s, Washington state televised the World Octopus Wrestling Championships . Kansas schoolteacher Samuel Dinsmoor spent two decades fashioning a Garden of Eden out of concrete . Sources for our feature on William Herbert Wallace: W.F. Wyndham-Brown, ed., The Trial of William Herbert Wallace , 1933. Yseult Bridges, Two Studies in Crime , 1959. Roger Wilkes, Wallace: The Final Verdict , 1984. Ronald Bartle, The Telephone Murder , 2012. Hans Von Hentig, "Pre-Murderous Kindness and Post-Murder Grief," Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science 48:4 (November-December 1957), 369-377. Roger Wilkes, "The 1931 Slaying of a Liverpool Housewife Remains to This Day the Perfect Murder," Telegraph , May 12, 2001. Liverpool Echo , "Riddle of Man from the Pru," April 7, 2008. David Harrison, "PD James Unmasks the Perfect Killer," Sunday Times , Oct. 27, 2013. Edward Winter, "Chess and the Wallace Murder Case," Chess History (accessed March 19, 2017). Listener mail: "Murder Castle," Lights Out , Feb. 16, 1938. Wikipedia, " Lights Out (radio show)" (accessed March 30, 2017). Wikipedia, "Oath of Office of the President of the United States" (accessed March 30, 2017). Jeffrey Toobin, <a href= "https://books.google.com/books?id=4nCiZ8mie8oC&pg=PA3&dq=taft+%22Whe
Mon, March 27, 2017
The Call of Mount Kenya
Stuck in an East African prison camp in 1943, Italian POW Felice Benuzzi needed a challenge to regain his sense of purpose. He made a plan that seemed crazy -- to break out of the camp, climb Mount Kenya, and break back in. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Benuzzi and two companions as they try to climb the second-highest mountain in Africa using homemade equipment. We'll also consider whether mirages may have doomed the Titanic and puzzle over an ineffective oath. Intro: Under the law of the United Kingdom, a sturgeon when caught becomes the personal property of the monarch . On July 4, 1853, 32 people held a dance on the stump of a California sequoia . Sources for our feature on Felice Benuzzi: Felice Benuzzi, No Picnic on Mount Kenya , 1953. Dave Pagel, "The Great Escape," Climbing 215 (Sept. 15, 2002), 87. Matthew Power and Keridwen Cornelius, "Escape to Mount Kenya," National Geographic Adventure 9:7 (September 2007), 65-71. Stephan Wilkinson, "10 Great POW Escapes," Military History 28:4 (November 2011), 28-33. Jon Mooallem, "In Search of Lost Ice," New York Times Magazine , Dec. 21, 2014, 28-35. "Because It Was There; Great Escapes," Economist 417:8965 (Nov. 21, 2015), 78. This is the package label that showed the prisoners the southern face of the mountain: Listener mail: Tim Maltin and Andrew T. Young, "The Hidden Cause of the Titanic Disaster" (accessed March 24, 2017). Smithsonian , "Did the Titanic Sink Because of an Optical Illusion?" (accessed March 24, 2017). Telegraph , "Titanic Sank Due to 'Mirage' Caused by Freak Weather" (accessed March 24, 2017). Matt Largey, "He Got a Bad Grade. So, He Got the Constitution Amended. Now He's Getting the Credit He Deserves," kut.org, March 21, 2017. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was
Mon, March 20, 2017
Alone in the Wilderness
In 1913 outdoorsman Joseph Knowles pledged to spend two months in the woods of northern Maine, naked and alone, fending for himself "without the slightest communication or aid from the outside world." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Knowles' adventures in the woods and the controversy that followed his return to civilization. We'll also consider the roots of nostalgia and puzzle over some busy brothers. Intro: In 1972, a French physicist discovered a natural uranium reactor operating underground in Gabon. In the 13th century the English royal menagerie included a polar bear . Sources for our feature on Joseph Knowles: Jim Motavalli, Naked in the Woods , 2007. Joseph Knowles, Alone in the Wilderness , 1913. Bill Donahue, "Naked Joe," Boston Magazine , April 2013. Richard O. Boyer, "The Nature Man," New Yorker , June 18, 1938. John Gould, "Tarzan of the Pines," Christian Science Monitor , June 18, 1999. Roderick Nash, "The American Cult of the Primitive," American Quarterly 18:3 (Autumn 1966), 517-537. Robert Moor, "The 1913 'Nature Man' Whose Survivalist Stunts Were Not What They Seemed," Atlas Obscura, July 7, 2016. "Joe Knowles, Lived in Wilds Unarmed!", New York Times , Oct. 23, 1942. Joseph B. Frazier, "An Early Nature Buff: By Going Into the Woods Alone, Did Joe Knowles Remind America of Its Potential?", Orlando Sentinel , March 2, 2008. Joseph B. Frazier, "'Natural Man' Inspired, Despite Fraud Claims," Augusta Chronicle , March 16, 2008. "The 100th Anniversary of Joe Knowles' Famous Odyssey into the Wilds," Lewiston [Maine] Sun Journal , April 14, 2013. "Joe Knowles and the Legacy of Wilderness Adventures," Lewiston [Maine] Sun Journal , May 12, 2013. "Nature Man Badly Injured," Los Angeles Times , May 18, 1915. "The Nature Man," The Billboard , Nov. 6, 1915. Grace Kingley, "Joe Knowles, Nature Man, at Republic," Los Angeles Times , Sept. 23, 1914. <img src= "https://www.futilitycloset.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-03-20-podcast-episode-14
Mon, March 13, 2017
The Pied Piper of Saipan
Guy Gabaldon was an untested Marine when he landed on the Pacific island of Saipan during World War II. But he decided to fight the war on his own terms, venturing alone into enemy territory and trying to convince Japanese soldiers to surrender voluntarily. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Gabaldon's dangerous crusade and learn its surprising results. We'll also examine Wonder Woman's erotic origins and puzzle over an elusive murderer. Intro: In 1955 Dodge introduced the La Femme -- "the first car ever exclusively designed for the woman motorist." In 1911 a 16-year-old English girl died when a gust of wind carried her 20 feet into the air . Sources for our feature on Guy Gabaldon: Guy Gabaldon, Saipan: Suicide Island , 1990. "Diminutive WWII Hero Gabaldon Dies at 80," Associated Press, Sept. 4, 2006. Richard Goldstein, "Guy Gabaldon, 80, Hero of Battle of Saipan, Dies," New York Times , Sept. 4, 2006. Jocelyn Y. Stewart, "Guy Gabaldon, 80; WWII Hero Captured 1,000 Japanese on Saipan," Los Angeles Times , Sept. 6, 2006. "Guy Gabaldon," Latino Americans , PBS, Sept. 24, 2013. Richard Gonzalez, "Filmmaker: Pacific War Hero Deserved Higher Honor," Morning Edition , National Public Radio, April 25, 2008. "Guy Gabaldon: An Interview and Discussion," War Times Journal (accessed Feb. 26, 2017). "Milestones," Time 168:12, Sept. 18, 2006. Gregg K. Kakesako, "'Pied Piper' Returning to Saipan," Honolulu Star Bulletin , June 6, 2004. "Guy Gabaldon," University of Texas Oral History Project (accessed Feb. 26, 2017). Gabaldon receives the Navy Cross, 1960: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVKEdyt_mvo Listener mail: Wikipedia, "William Moulton Marston" (accessed March 9, 2017). <
Mon, March 06, 2017
The Murder Castle
When detectives explored the Chicago hotel owned by insurance fraudster H.H. Holmes in 1894, they found a nightmarish warren of blind passageways, trapdoors, hidden chutes, and asphyxiation chambers in which Holmes had killed dozens or perhaps even hundreds of victims. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the career of America's first documented serial killer, who headlines called "a fiend in human shape." We'll also gape at some fireworks explosions and puzzle over an intransigent insurance company. Intro: In 1908 a Strand reader discovered an old London horse omnibus on the outskirts of Calgary . If Henry Jenkins truly lived to 169, then as an English subject he'd have changed religions eight times . Sources for our feature on H.H. Holmes: Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City , 2004. John Borowski, The Strange Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes , 2005. Harold Schechter, Depraved: The Definitive True Story of H.H. Holmes , 1994. Alan Glenn, "A Double Dose of the Macabre," Michigan Today , Oct. 22, 2013. John Bartlow Martin, "The Master of the Murder Castle," Harper's , December 1943. Corey Dahl, "H.H. Holmes: The Original Client From Hell," Life Insurance Selling , October 2013. "Claims an Alibi: Holmes Says the Murders Were Committed by a Friend," New York Times , July 17, 1895. "Holmes in Great Demand: Will Be Tried Where the Best Case Can Be Made," New York Times , July 24, 1895. "Accused of Ten Murders: The List of Holmes's Supposed Victims Grows Daily," New York Times , July 26, 1895. "The Holmes Case," New York Times , July 28, 1895. "Expect to Hang Holmes: Chicago Police Authorities Say They Can Prove Murder," New York Times , July 30, 1895. "Chicago and Holmes," New York Times , July 31, 1895. "No Case Against Holmes: Chicago Police Baffled in the Attempt to Prove Murder," New York Times , Aug. 2, 1895. "Did Holmes Kill Pitzel: The Theory of Murder Gaining Ground Steadily," New York Times , Nov. 20, 1894. "Holmes Fears Hatch: Denies All the Charges of Murder Thus Far Made Against Him," New York Times , Aug. 2, 1895. "Quinlan's Testimony Against Holmes: They Think He Committed Most of the Murders in the Castle," New York Times , Aug. 4, 1895. <
Mon, February 27, 2017
The Conscience Fund
For 200 years the U.S. Treasury has maintained a "conscience fund" that accepts repayments from people who have defrauded or stolen from the government. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the history of the fund and some of the more memorable and puzzling contributions it's received over the years. We'll also ponder Audrey Hepburn's role in World War II and puzzle over an illness cured by climbing poles. Intro: Wisconsin banker John Krubsack grafted 32 box elders into a living chair . According to his colleagues, Wolfgang Pauli's mere presence would cause accidents . Sources for our feature on the conscience fund: Warren Weaver Jr., "'Conscience Fund' at New High," New York Times , March 18, 1987. "$10,000 to Conscience Fund," New York Times , July 21, 1915. "$6,100 to Conscience Fund," New York Times , Feb. 4, 1925. "Swell Conscience Fund; Two Remittances, Small and Large, Bring In $4,876.70," New York Times , Feb. 6, 1916. "Sends $50 to War Department for Equipment Stolen in 1918," New York Times , March 2, 1930. "Depression Swells Total of Federal Conscience Fund," New York Times , April 21, 1932. "Federal Treasury Gets $300 to Add to Conscience Fund," New York Times , March 25, 1932. "9,896 Two-Cent Stamps Sent to City's Conscience Fund," New York Times , May 15, 1930. "$30,000 to Conscience Fund; Contributor Says He Has Sent Four Times Amount He Stole," New York Times , March 10, 1916. "Guilt: Settling With Uncle Sam," Time , March 30, 1987. <a href= "http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archi
Mon, February 20, 2017
Fingerprints and Polygraphs
Fingerprint identification and lie detectors are well-known tools of law enforcement today, but both were quite revolutionary when they were introduced. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the memorable cases where these innovations were first used. We'll also see some phantom ships and puzzle over a beer company's second thoughts. Intro: In 1892, Bostonians realized that the architects of their new library had hidden their name in the façade . In 1918, a California businessman built a 7,900-ton steamer out of ferrocement . Sources for our feature on fingerprints and polygraphs: Ken Alder, The Lie Detectors , 2007. Jack Fincher, “Lifting 'Latents' Is Now Very Much a High-Tech Matter,” Smithsonian , October 1989, 201. James O'Brien, The Scientific Sherlock Holmes , 2013. Ian Leslie, Born Liars , 2011. William J. Tilstone, Kathleen A. Savage, and Leigh A. Clark, Forensic Science: An Encyclopedia of History, Methods, and Techniques , 2006. Benjamin Netanyahu, Criminal Justice: New Technologies and the Constitution , 1989. Kenneth R. Moses et al., "Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)," in The Fingerprint Sourcebook , Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis Study and Technology and National Institute of Justice, 2011, 1-33. Raymond Dussault, "The Latent Potential of Latent Prints," Government Technology , Dec. 31, 1998. Barbara Bradley, "Fingered by the Police Computer," Christian Science Monitor , June 9, 1988. U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, "New Technology for Investigation, Identification, and Apprehension," in Special Report: Criminal Justice, New Technologies, and the Constitution , May 1988. Thanks to listener Pål Grønås Drange for suggesting the Ken Moses story. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Mirage" (accessed Feb. 17, 2017). W.H. Lehn, "The Nova Zemlya Effect: An Arctic Mirage," Journal of the Optical Society of America 69:5 (May 1979), 776-781. Wikipedia, <a href= "https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Novaya_Ze
Mon, February 13, 2017
Abducted by Indians, a Captive of Whites
In 1836, Indians abducted a 9-year-old girl from her home in East Texas. She made a new life among the Comanche, with a husband and three children. Then, after 24 years, the whites abducted her back again. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, caught up in a war between two societies. We'll also analyze a forger's motives and puzzle over why a crowd won't help a dying woman. Intro: Mathematician Ernst Straus invented a shape in which a ball might bounce forever without finding a hole . In 1874 a Massachusetts composer set the American constitution to music . Sources for our feature on Cynthia Ann Parker: Margaret Schmidt Hacker, Cynthia Ann Parker: The Life and the Legend , 1990. Jack K. Selden, Return: The Parker Story , 2006. Jan Reid, "One Who Was Found: The Legend of Cynthia Ann Parker," in Michael L. Collins, ed., Tales of Texoma , 2005. Jo Ella Powell Exley, Frontier Blood , 2001. Jack C. Ramsay Jr., Sunshine on the Prairie , 1990. George U. Hubbard, The Humor and Drama of Early Texas , 2003. Richard Selcer, "The Robe," Wild West 28:5 (February 2016), 60-64. Glen Sample Ely, “ Myth, Memory, and Massacre: The Pease River Capture of Cynthia Ann Parker [review],” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 115:1 (July 2011), 91-92. Gregory Michno, "Nocona's Raid and Cynthia Ann's Recapture," Wild West 23:2 (August 2010), 36-43. Paul H. Carlson and Tom Crum, "The 'Battle' at Pease River and the Question of Reliable Sources in the Recapture of Cynthia Ann Parker," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 113:1 (July 2009), 32-52. Anne Dingus, "Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker," Texas Monthly 27:5 (May 1999), 226. "Cynthia Ann Seized History," Southern Living 25:3 (March 5, 1990), 61. Lawrence T. Jones III, "Cynthia Ann Parker and Pease Ross: The Forgotten Photographs," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 93:3 (January 1990), 379-384. Rupert N. Richardson, "The Death of Nocona and the Recovery of Cynthia Ann Parker," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 46:1 (July 1942), 15-21. Listener mail: Donald MacGillivray, "When Is a Fake Not a Fake? When It's a Genuine Forgery," Guardian , July 1, 2005. Noah Charney, <a href= "https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/why-so-many-art-forgers-want
Mon, February 06, 2017
Ramanujan
In 1913, English mathematician G.H. Hardy received a package from an unknown accounting clerk in India, with nine pages of mathematical results that he found "scarcely possible to believe." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow the unlikely friendship that sprang up between Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan, whom Hardy called "the most romantic figure in the recent history of mathematics." We'll also probe Carson McCullers' heart and puzzle over a well-proportioned amputee. Intro: W.H. Hill's signature was unchanged when inverted . Room 308 of West Java's Samudra Beach Hotel is reserved for the Indonesian goddess Nyai Loro Kidul . Sources for our feature on Srinivasa Ramanujan: Robert Kanigel, The Man Who Knew Infinity , 1991. K. Srinivasa Rao, Srinivasa Ramanujan: A Mathematical Genius , 1998. S.R. Ranganathan, Ramanujan: The Man and the Mathematician , 1967. Bruce C. Berndt and Robert A. Rankin, Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary , 1991. G.H. Hardy, "The Indian Mathematician Ramanujan," American Mathematical Monthly 44:3 (March 1937), 137-155. Gina Kolata, "Remembering a 'Magical Genius,'" Science 236:4808 (June 19, 1987), 1519-1521. E.H. Neville, "Srinivasa Ramanujan," Nature 149:3776 (March 1942), 293. Bruce C. Berndt, "Srinivasa Ramanujan," American Scholar 58:2 (Spring 1989), 234-244. B.M. Srikantia, "Srinivasa Ramanujan," American Mathematical Monthly 35:5 (May 1928), 241-245. S.G. Gindikin, "Ramanujan the Phenomenon," Quantum 8:4 (March/April 1998), 4-9. "Srinivasa Ramanujan" in Timothy Gowers, June Barrow-Green, and Imre Leader, eds., Princeton Companion to Mathematics , 2010. "Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan," MacTutor History of Mathematics (accessed Jan. 22, 2017). In the photo above, Ramanujan is at center and Hardy is at far right. Listener mail: "Myth Debunked: Audrey Hepburn Did Not Work for the Resistance" [in Dutch], Dutch Broadcast Foundation, Nov. 17, 2016. "Audrey Hepburn's Son Remembers Her Life," Larry King Live, CNN, Dec. 24, 2003. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tyler Rousseau. You can listen using the player above, <a href= "http://traffic.libsy
Mon, January 30, 2017
The Painter's Revenge
When critics dismissed his paintings, Dutch artist Han van Meegeren decided to seek his revenge on the art world: He devoted himself to forgery and spent six years fabricating a Vermeer masterpiece. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll recount the career of a master forger and the surprising mistake that eventually brought him down. We'll also drop in on D.B. Cooper and puzzle over an eyeless fruit burglar. Intro: In 1976, the New York Times accidentally dated an issue "March 10, 1075." In 1987, University of Illinois freshman Mike Hayes financed his education by asking Chicago Tribune readers for a penny apiece . Sources for our feature on Han van Meegeren: Edward Dolnick, The Forger's Spell , 2008. Jonathan Lopez, The Man Who Made Vermeers , 2008. John Raymond Godley, Van Meegeren: A Case History , 1967. John Raymond Godley, Master Art Forger: The Story of Han Van Meegeren , 1966. P.B. Coremans, Van Meegeren's Faked Vermeers and de Hooghs: A Scientific Examination , 1949. Humphrey Van Loo, "Art Hoax Which Cost the World Millions," Britannia and Eve 33:4 (October 1946). "The Man Who Paints: Hans Van Meegeren Stands Trial at Amsterdam," Sphere 191:2493 (Nov. 15, 1947). "The Strange Story of the Forged Vermeers," Sphere 184:2400 (Jan. 19, 1946). Serena Davies, "The Forger Who Fooled the World," Telegraph , Aug. 5, 2006. "Han van Meegeren," Fake or Fortune?, BBC One. Peter Schjeldahl, "Dutch Master," New Yorker , Oct. 27, 2008. Listener mail: Chris Ingalls, "Scientists Say They May Have New Evidence in D.B. Cooper Case," USA Today , Jan. 16, 2017. Erik Lacitis, "Does That Evidence Truly Tie D.B. Cooper to Boeing? Plot Thickens," Seattle Times , Jan. 20, 2017. Citizen Sleuths. Wikipedia,
Mon, January 23, 2017
Life in a Cupboard
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell two stories about people who spent years confined in miserably small spaces. North Carolina slave Harriet Jacobs spent seven years hiding in a narrow space under her grandmother's roof, evading her abusive owner, and Irishman Patrick Fowler spent most of World War I hiding in the cabinet of a sympathetic family in German-occupied France. We'll also subdivide Scotland and puzzle over a ballerina's silent reception. Intro: During a printers' strike in 1923, New York newspapers put out a paper with 10 nameplates . Henry Hudson's journal reports an encounter with a mermaid in 1610. Sources for our feature on Harriet Jacobs and Patrick Fowler: Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl , 1861. Jean Fagan Yellin, Harriet Jacobs: A Life , 2004. Jean Fagan Yellin, ed., The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers , 2008. Daneen Wardrop, "'I Stuck the Gimlet in and Waited for Evening': Writing and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ," Texas Studies in Literature and Language 49:3 (Fall 2007), 209-229. Christina Accomando, "'The Laws were Laid Down to Me Anew': Harriet Jacobs and the Reframing of Legal Fictions," African American Review 32:2 (Summer 1998), 229-245. Georgia Kreiger, "Playing Dead: Harriet Jacobs's Survival Strategy in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ," African American Review 42:3/4 (Fall 2008), 607-621, 795. Anne Bradford Warner, "Harriet Jacobs at Home in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ," Southern Quarterly 45.3 (Spring 2008), 30-47. Miranda A. Green-Barteet, "'The Loophole of Retreat': Interstitial Spaces in Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," South Central Review 30:2 (Summer 2013) 53-72. Anna Stewart, "Revising 'Harriet Jacobs' for 1865," American Literature 82:4 (2010), 701-724. John Devine and Chris Glennon, "WWI Film to Tell How Irish Soldier Spent Four Years in Cupboard," Irish Independent , Jan. 6, 2000. Frank Moss, "He Lived in Cupboard for 4 Years: True-Life Adventure," Answers 127:3287 (April 30, 1955). "By the Skin of His Teeth," Top Spot , Nov. 28, 1959. "Left-Hand Door," Time 9:12 (March 21, 1927), 16. Tony Millett, <a href= "http://www.marlboroughnewsonline.co.uk/features/general/3306-ww-1-centenary-the-soldier-who-came-hom
Mon, January 16, 2017
The Mystery of Fiona Macleod
When the Scottish writer William Sharp died in 1905, his wife revealed a surprising secret: For 10 years he had kept up a second career as a reclusive novelist named Fiona Macleod, carrying on correspondences and writing works in two distinctly different styles. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore Sharp's curious relationship with his feminine alter ego, whose sporadic appearances perplexed even him. We'll also hunt tigers in Singapore and puzzle over a surprisingly unsuccessful bank robber. Intro: In 1904 Mrs. Membury, of Hyde Corner, Bridport, Dorset, set out to make a snake of stamps . In 1996, mathematician Michael J. Bradley noticed that his son's Little League rulebook specified a geometrically impossible home plate . Sources for our feature on Fiona Macleod: Flavia Alaya, William Sharp -- “Fiona Macleod,” 1855-1905 , 1970. Terry L. Meyers, The Sexual Tensions of William Sharp , 1996. John Sutherland, Curiosities of Literature , 2013. "Sharp's Death Solves a Literary Mystery," New York Times , Dec. 15, 1905. Emmeline Pethick Lawrence, "A Man With Two Souls," Votes for Women , Jan. 6, 1911. "The Past Year's Literary Output," Sydney Morning Herald , Feb. 16, 1901. "Fiona Macleod," Athenaeum 3733 (May 13, 1899), 596. "Fiona Macleod," The Academy , May 15, 1897, 525-526. Georgiana Goddard King, "Fiona Macleod," Modern Language Notes 33:6 (June 1918), 352-356. Alfred Noyes, "Fiona Macleod," Fortnightly Review 79:469 (January 1906), 163. "Fiona Macleod," The Academy , Dec. 16, 1905, 1312-1313. Ethel Rolt-Wheeler, "Fiona Macleod -- The Woman," Fortnightly Review 106:635 (November 1919), 780-790. Frank Rinder, "William Sharp -- 'Fiona Macleod,'" Art Journal , February 1906, 44-45. "Miss Fiona Macleod," The Sketch 23:296 (Sept. 28, 1898), 430. "Fiona Macleod," Vogue 13:13 (March 30, 1899), 206. Catharine A. Janvier, "Fiona Macleod and Her Creator William Sharp," North American Review 184:612 (April 5, 1907), 718-732. William Sharp "Fiona Macleod" Archive , Institute of English Studies, University of London. James Norman Hall, Oh Millersville! , 1940. Edward Brunner, "'Writing Another Kind of Poetry': James Norman Hall as 'Fern Gravel' in Oh Millersville! ", Iowa Journal of Cultural S
Mon, January 09, 2017
The Boston Molasses Disaster
In 1919 a bizarre catastrophe struck Boston's North End: A giant storage tank failed, releasing 2 million gallons of molasses into a crowded business district at the height of a January workday. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Boston Molasses Disaster, which claimed 21 lives and inscribed a sticky page into the city's history books. We'll also admire some Scandinavian statistics and puzzle over a provocative Facebook photo. Intro: In 1888 three women reported encountering a 15-foot flying serpent in the woods near Columbia, S.C. In 1834 the American Journal of Science and Arts reported the capture of a pair of conjoined catfish near Fort Johnston, N.C. Sources for our feature on the Boston Molasses Disaster: Stephen Puleo, Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 , 2003. Fred Durso Jr., "The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919," NFPA Journal 105:3 (May/June 2011), 90-93. Sean Potter, "Retrospect: January 15, 1919: Boston Molasses Flood," Weatherwise 64:1 (January/February 2011), 10-11. Kaylie Duffy, "Today in Engineering History: Molasses Tanker Explodes, Kills 21," Product Design & Development , Jan. 15, 2015. Steve Puleo, "Death by Molasses," American History 35:6 (February 2001), 60-66. Chuck Lyons, "A Sticky Tragedy," History Today 59.1 (January 2009), 40-42. Dick Sinnott, "21 Persons Drowned in Molasses Flood," Reading [Pa.] Eagle , Jan. 15, 1959. Edwards Park, "Without Warning, Molasses in January Surged Over Boston," Smithsonian 14:8 (November 1983), 213-230. "12 Killed When Tank of Molasses Explodes," New York Times , Jan. 16, 1919. Ferris Jabr, "The Science of the Great Molasses Flood," Scientific American , Aug. 1, 2013. United Press International, "The Great Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919," Jan. 17, 1979. Peter Schworm, <a href= "http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/14/nearly-century-later-new-insight-into-cause-great-molasses-flood/CNqLYc0T
Mon, December 26, 2016
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Below are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a few places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from Dan Lewis' Now I Know newsletter of April 28, 2016. Puzzle #2 was contributed by listener Jon Sweitzer-Lamme, who sent these corroborating links . Puzzle #3 is from listener Jonathan Knoell. Puzzle #4 is from listener Nick Hare. Puzzle #5 is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Puzzle #6 was devised by Greg. Here's a link. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, December 19, 2016
The Christmas Truce
In December 1914 a remarkable thing happened on the Western Front: British and German soldiers stopped fighting and left their trenches to greet one another, exchange souvenirs, bury their dead, and sing carols in the spirit of the holiday season. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Christmas truce, which one participant called "one of the highlights of my life." We'll also remember James Thurber's Aunt Sarah and puzzle over an anachronistic twin. Intro: In 1898, G.W. Roberts of Birmingham made a full-size piano from 3,776 matchboxes and 5 pounds of glue. In 1892, 69 men raced 302 miles on stilts , from Bordeaux to Bayonne and Biarritz and back. Sources for our feature on the Christmas truce: Terri Blom Crocker, The Christmas Truce: Myth, Memory, and the First World War , 2016. Stanley Weintraub, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce , 2001. Chris Baker, The Truce: The Day the War Stopped , 2014. Peter Hart, "Christmas Truce," Military History 31:5 (January 2015), 64-70. Joe Perry, Christmas in Germany: A Cultural History , 2010. Ian Herbert, "Muddy Truth of the Christmas Truce Game," Independent , Dec. 24, 2014. David Brown, "Remembering a Victory For Human Kindness," Washington Post , Dec. 25, 2004. "Alfred Anderson, 109, Last Man From 'Christmas Truce' of 1914," New York Times , Nov. 22, 2005. "The Christmas Truce, 1914," The Henry Williamson Society (accessed Dec. 16, 2016). Mike Dash, "The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce," Smithsonian , Dec. 23, 2011. Stephen Moss, "Truce in the Trenches Was Real, But Football Tales Are a Shot in the Dark," Guardian , Dec. 16, 2014. Listener mail: Kirk Ross, The Sky Men: A Parachute Rifle Company's Story of the Battle of the Bulge and the Jump Across the Rhine , 2004. A short version of the barrel-of-bricks episode from MythBusters : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt230Pd1oSo Listener Daniel Sterman recommends the original episode, "Barrel of Bricks," from Oct. 10, 2003. <p
Mon, December 12, 2016
Notes and Queries
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some more curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a pilot who saved Buckingham Palace, a ghost who confronted Arthur Conan Doyle, what Mark Twain learned from a palm reader, and a bedeviling superfluity of Norwegians. We'll also discover a language used only by women and puzzle over a gift that's best given sparingly. Intro: Horatio Nelson's coffin was fashioned from the mast of a French flagship that he had defeated . In 1994 the city council of Green River, Wyoming, designated an airstrip south of town as an "intergalactic spaceport." Sources for our feature on notes and queries: The story of the Singapore tiger shooting appears in this history of the Raffles hotel . Neil Kagan's 2013 book The Untold Civil War alleges that the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment was so thick with Norwegians that it contained dozens of men named Ole Olson. The Norwegian American Genealogical Center says that the Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers shows that the 15th had 128 men whose first name was Ole, 75 men whose last name was Olson, Olsen, or Oleson, but just 15 whose names were Ole Olson, Ole Olsen, or Ole Oleson. The anecdote about the Gettysburg ordinance is mentioned in Michael Sanders' 2006 More Strange Tales of the Civil War , which cites Gregory A. Coco's A Strange and Blighted Land, Gettysburg: The Aftermath of a Battle , 1995. I found it in Allen C. Guelzo's Gettysburg: The Last Invasion , 2013. Frances Wilson describes Titanic survivor Lawrence Beesley's visit to the set of A Night to Remember in her 2011 book How to Survive the Titanic, Or The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay . The observation about John Ford's eye for camerawork appears in Robert L. Carringer's 1996 book The Making of Citizen Kane . Dan Murphy's Puritan name is spelled out in Willard R. Espy's An Almanac of Words at Play , 1975. ( I first wrote about unusual Puritan names in 2009. ) The two long names cited by H.L. Mencken appear in his 1921 study The American Language . Douglas Hofstadter describes Stanford art professor Matt Kahn's confetti illusion in his foreword to Al Seckel's 2004 book Masters of Deception .
Mon, December 05, 2016
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
In 1944, a bizarre criminal assaulted the small town of Mattoon, Illinois. Victims reported smelling a sickly sweet odor in their bedrooms before being overcome with nausea and a feeling of paralysis. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll pursue the mad gasser of Mattoon, who vanished as quickly as he had struck, leaving residents to wonder whether he had ever existed at all. We'll also ponder the concept of identical cousins and puzzle over a midnight stabbing. Intro: Enterprise, Ala., erected an $1,800 monument to the boll weevil . In the late 1930s, a plaster mannequin named Cynthia archly toured the New York social scene . Sources for our feature on the mad gasser of Mattoon: Bob Ladendorf and Robert E. Bartholomew, "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: How the Press Created an Imaginary Chemical Weapons Attack," Skeptical Inquirer 26:4 (July/August 2002), 50-54. Robert E. Bartholomew and Jeffrey S. Victor, "A Social-Psychological Theory of Collective Anxiety Attacks: The 'Mad Gasser' Reexamined," Sociological Quarterly 45:2 (March 2004), 229–248. Robert E. Bartholomew and Erich Goode, "Phantom Assailants & the Madness of Crowds: The Mad Gasser of Botetourt County," Skeptic 7:4 (1999), 50. D.M. Johnson, "The 'Phantom Anesthetist' of Mattoon: A Field Study of Mass Hysteria," Journal of Abnormal Psychology 40:2 (April 1945), 175-186. Debbie Carlson, "The Mattoon Mad Gasser -- Looking Back at a Textbook Case of Mass Hysteria," Belt Magazine , June 4, 2015. Romeo Vitelli, "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon," James Randi Educational Foundation Swift Blog, April 23, 2011. Robert E. Bartholomew, Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics , 2001. Mike Dash, Borderlands , 2000. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Battle of Blair Mountain" (accessed December 2, 2016). Wikipedia, "Shelton Brothers Gang" (accessed December 2, 2016). Wikipedia, "Tulsa race riot" (accessed December 2, 2016). Wikipedia, "The Patty Duke Show"</
Mon, November 28, 2016
Escape From Libby Prison
Libby Prison was one of the most infamous prison camps of the Civil War -- thousands of Union prisoners were packed together in a converted warehouse, facing months or years of starvation and abuse. The Confederates thought the prison was escape-proof, and in this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll show how a determined group of prisoners set out to prove them wrong. We'll also duel with a barrel and puzzle over why an admitted forger would be found innocent. Intro: Iowa attorney Townsend M. Zink directed that his money be used to build a library that would exclude women and stock books written only by men . In the early 1960s, the American Automobile Association forgot to include Seattle on its road map of the United States . Sources for our feature on the Libby Prison breakout: Joseph Wheelan, Libby Prison Breakout , 2010. Jonathan Franklin William Vance, Encyclopedia of Prisoners of War and Internment , 2006. Bruce Klee, "Libby Prison," Civil War Times Illustrated 37:7 (February 1999), 32-38. Steven Trent Smith, "The Great Libby Prison Breakout," Civil War Times 49:4 (August 2010), 46-53. Michael Morgan, "Breakout From Rat Hell," Civil War Times Illustrated 40:5 (October 2001), 28-37. A.G. Hamilton, " Story of the Famous Tunnel Escape From Libby Prison ," 1893. Emeric Szabad, "Diary in Libby Prison," Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country 77:459 (March 1868), 385-406. Frank E. Moran, "Libby Prison's Tunnel," Toledo Blade , Nov. 9, 1882. This diagram accompanied "Colonel Rose's Tunnel at Libby Prison," Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine , March 1888: Second feature: "Five Accidents, But Only One Indemnity," American Lawyer , August 1906. This story was a staple of vaudeville, made most famous, I think, by Fred Allen. But Allen was 12 when this version appeared, and 1 when the joke made its debut . This week's lateral thin
Mon, November 21, 2016
The Unlikely Ultramarathoner
Australia's Westfield ultramarathon had a surprise entrant in 1983: A 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young joined a field of elite professional runners for the 500-mile race from Sydney to Melbourne. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Young's fortunes in the race and the heart, tenacity, and humor that endeared him to a nation. We'll also learn the difference between no and nay and puzzle over a Japanese baby shortage. Intro: Thomas Wedders exhibited his 7.5-inch nose throughout Yorkshire in the 1770s. Two meteorologists played ping-pong on a solid block of snow atop Scotland's Ben Nevis in 1902. Sources for our feature on Cliff Young: Julietta Jameson, Cliffy: The Cliff Young Story , 2013. Phil Essam, ed., I've Finally Found My Hero , 2016. Matthew Ricketson, "Cliff's Not Finished Yet," The Age , Nov. 29, 1983. J. Freeman, "Cliff Calls It a Day," Telegraph , April 17, 1985. Greg Truman, "A Long-Running Favorite Draws to an End," The Advertiser , May 5, 1986. Louise Evans, "Cliff, the Battler's Hero, Refuses to Shuffle Off Into the Sunset," Sydney Morning Herald , June 4, 1988. R. Reed, "Westfield Highway Closed to Cliff: Old Shuffler 'Saved' From Himself," Sunday Herald , March 11, 1990. G. Legg, "Cliff, 70, Has Enough Puff for 170km," Courier-Mail , May 23, 1992. Derek Ballantine, "For Cliff, a Long Road to Nowhere," The Advertiser , April 10, 1993. Alan Rider, "'Where's Cliffy?': In Hobart Run-Walk!," Hobart Mercury , April 20, 1993. Tony Baker, "An Epic of Eccentricity," Hobart Mercury , April 25, 1997. "End of the Road for Cliff," Sydney Morning Herald , Nov. 3, 2003. Graeme Leech, "Shy Runner Shuffled Into a Nation's Heart," The Australian , Nov. 7, 2003. Charles Happell, "A Gumbooted Forrest Gump, Cliff Young Ran His Own Race," The Australian , March 23, 2013. "Running Legend's Cup Will Return to District," Colac Herald , April 17, 2015.</
Mon, November 14, 2016
The Voynich Manuscript
In 1912, bookseller Wilfrid Voynich discovered an illustrated manuscript that was written in a mysterious alphabet that had never been seen before. The text bears the hallmarks of natural language, but no one has ever been able to determine its meaning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about the Voynich manuscript, which has been bewildering scholars for more than a century. We'll also ponder some parliamentary hostages and puzzle over a tormenting acquisition. Intro: In 1851, George Merryweather invented the Tempest Prognosticator , a rack of bottled leeches who would ring a bell when a storm approached. Between 1884 and 1896, visitors to Coney Island could stay in a 31-room hotel shaped like an elephant . Sources for our feature on the Voynich manuscript: Gerry Kennedy and Rob Churchill, The Voynich Manuscript , 2004. "Voynich Manuscript," Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University. Klaus Schmeh, "The Voynich Manuscript: The Book Nobody Can Read," Skeptical Inquirer 35:1 (January/February 2011). Diego R. Amancio et al., "Probing the Statistical Properties of Unknown Texts: Application to the Voynich Manuscript," PLoS One , July 2, 2013. Andreas Schinner, "The Voynich Manuscript: Evidence of the Hoax Hypothesis," Cryptologia 31:2 (March 2007). Marcelo A. Montemurro and Damián H. Zanette, "Keywords and Co-Occurrence Patterns in the Voynich Manuscript: An Information-Theoretic Analysis," PLoS One , June 21, 2013. Bec Crew, "Researcher Finds Evidence That the 'World's Most Mysterious Book' Is an Elaborate Hoax," Science Alert, Sept. 23, 2016. Melissa Hogenboom, "Mysterious Voynich Manuscript Has 'Genuine Message'," BBC News, June 22, 2013. Reed Johnson, "The Unread: The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript," New Yorker , July 9, 2013. Rich McCormick, <a hre
Mon, November 07, 2016
The Battle for Castle Itter
The closing days of World War II witnessed a bizarre battle with some unlikely allies: American and German soldiers joined forces to rescue a group of French prisoners from a medieval castle in the Austrian Alps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Battle for Castle Itter, the only time that Allies and Germans fought together in the war. We'll also dodge another raft of aerial bombs and puzzle over a bottled pear. Intro: In 1917, Royal Flying Corps trainee Graham Donald fell out of his plane at the top of a loop. In 1750, the 1st Earl of Hardwicke installed an artificial ruin near his country house, Wimpole Hall. Sources for our feature on the Battle for Castle Itter: Stephen Harding, The Last Battle , 2013. Stephen Harding, "The Battle for Castle Itter," World War II 23:3 (August/September 2008), 38-45. George Hodge, "The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe," Military Review 94:4 (July/August 2014), 100. John G. Mayer, "12th Men Free French Big-Wigs," 12th Armored Division Hellcat News , May 26, 1945. Andrew Roberts, "World War II's Strangest Battle: When Americans and Germans Fought Together," Daily Beast, May 12, 2013. Bethany Bell, "The Austrian Castle Where Nazis Lost to German-US Force," BBC News, May 7, 2015. Listener mail: Roadside America, "Omaha, Nebraska: Plaque: Japanese Balloon Bomb Exploded Here." "B-52 Accidentally Bombs Kansas Lake," Aero News Network, Dec. 16, 2006. Bill Kaczor, "Bombs Rained on Florida Family in 1944," Los Angeles Times , Aug. 14, 1994. Wikipedia, "MOVE: 1985 bombing" (accessed Nov. 4, 2016). Wikipedia, "Pavlovsk Experimental Station" (accessed Nov. 4, 2016). Ian Crofton, A Curious History of Food and Drink , 2014. Wikipedia, <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wi
Mon, October 24, 2016
Rowing Across the Atlantic
In 1896 two New Jersey clam diggers made a bold bid for fame: They set out to cross the North Atlantic in a rowboat, a feat that had never been accomplished before. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the adventure of George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen, which one newspaper called "the most remarkable event in the way of ocean navigation that ever transpired." We'll also meet some military mammals and puzzle over a thwarted burglar. Intro: The score for Telemann's Gulliver Suite includes "Lilliputian" and "Brobdingnagian" note values . In 1964 Zambia announced a rather low-tech space program . Sources for our feature on Harbo and Samuelsen: David W. Shaw, Daring the Sea , 1998. William Longyard, A Speck on the Sea , 2003. David W. Shaw, "A Fool's Errand, but a Nautical Landmark," Scandinavian Review 102:1 (Spring 2015), 46-60. "To Row Across the Atlantic," New York World , Feb. 13, 1896, 16. "To Cross Ocean in Rowboat," New York Herald , June 6, 1896, 7. The log of the Fox . "Over the Sea With Oars," New York World , Aug. 2, 1896, 10. "The Fox Arrives at Havre," Daily Telegraph , Aug 7, 1896. "They Rowed to Havre," National Police Gazette , Aug. 22, 1896. "The Following Is Worth Reading," National Police Gazette , Sept. 12, 1896. "Harbo and Samuelson and the Tiny Boat
Mon, October 17, 2016
The Great Australian Poetry Hoax
In 1943, fed up with modernist poetry, two Australian servicemen invented a fake poet and submitted a collection of deliberately senseless verses to a Melbourne arts magazine. To their delight, they were accepted and their author hailed as "one of the most remarkable and important poetic figures of this country." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Ern Malley hoax, its perpetrators, and its surprising legacy in Australian literature. We'll also hear a mechanized Radiohead and puzzle over a railroad standstill. Intro: In 1896 an English statistician decided that "brass instruments have a fatal influence on the growth of the hair." The Lincoln Electric Company presented a check made of steel to each winner of a 1932 essay contest. Sources for our feature on Ern Malley: Michael Heyward, The Ern Malley Affair , 1993. Brian Lloyd, "Ern Malley and His Rivals," Australian Literary Studies 20:1 (May 2001) 20. Philip Mead, "1944, Melbourne and Adelaide: The Ern Malley Hoax," in Brian McHale and Randall Stevenson, eds., The Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-Century Literatures in English , 2006. The Ern Malley website contains the complete story and poems. In June 2002 Jacket Magazine ran a special "hoax" issue , with much background and commentary on the Malley story. Listener mail: Radiohead's "Nude" played by a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, an Epson LX-81 dot matrix printer, an HP Scanjet 3c, and an array of hard drives. Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" via Super Mario World. "Logická Hádanka" by Horkýže Slíže -- a Slovak punk band sings a lateral thinking puzzle (translation and solution in video description). Guy Clifton and Emerson Marcus, "A Tale of the '70s: When D.B. Cooper's Plane Landed in Reno," Reno Gazette-Journal , July 13, 2016. Ralph P. Himmelsbach and Thomas K. Worcester, Norjak: The Investigation of D.B. Cooper , 1986. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Greg, who collected these corroborating <a href= "https://www.amtrak.com/ccu
Mon, October 10, 2016
The Campden Wonder
When William Harrison disappeared from Campden, England, in 1660, his servant offered an incredible explanation: that he and his family had murdered him. The events that followed only proved the situation to be even more bizarre. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe "the Campden wonder," an enigma that has eluded explanation for more than 300 years. We'll also consider Vladimir Putin's dog and puzzle over a little girl's benefactor. Intro: In 1921, Pennsylvania surgeon Evan O'Neill Kane removed his own appendix . (Soviet physician Leonid Rogozov did the same 40 years later.) John Cowper Powys once promised to visit Theodore Dreiser "as a spirit or in some other astral form" -- and, according to Dreiser, did so . Sources for our feature on the Campden Wonder: Sir George Clark, ed., The Campden Wonder , 1959. "The Campden Wonder," Arminian Magazine , August 1787, 434. "Judicial Puzzles -- The Campden Wonder," Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine , July 1860, 54-64. Andrew Lang, Historical Mysteries , 1904. J.A. Cannon, "Campden Wonder," in The Oxford Companion to British History , 2015. Bruce P. Smith, "The History of Wrongful Execution," Hastings Law Journal , June 2005. Frances E. Chapman, "Coerced Internalized False Confessions and Police Interrogations: The Power of Coercion," Law & Psychology Review 37 (2013), 159. Listener mail: Tim Hume, "Vladimir Putin: I Didn't Mean to Scare Angela Merkel With My Dog," CNN, Jan. 12, 2016. Roland Oliphant, "Vladimir Putin Denies Setting His Dog on Angela Merkel," Telegraph , Jan. 12, 2016. Stefan Kornelius, "Six Things You Didn't Know About Angela Merkel," Guardian , Sept. 10, 2013. Wikipedia, "Spall" (retrieved Oct. 7, 2016). Associated Press, "Boise Ci
Mon, October 03, 2016
D.B. Cooper
In 1971 a mysterious man hijacked an airliner in Portland, Oregon, demanding $200,000 and four parachutes. He bailed out somewhere over southwestern Washington and has never been seen again. In today's show we'll tell the story of D.B. Cooper, the only unsolved hijacking in American history. We'll also hear some musical disk drives and puzzle over a bicyclist's narrow escape. Intro: In 1973, Swedish mathematician Per Enflo won a goose for solving a problem posed 37 years earlier. Established in 1945 by a sympathetic actor, the Conrad Cantzen Shoe Fund will reimburse working artists $40 toward a pair of shoes . Sources for our feature on D.B. Cooper: Ralph P. Himmelsbach and Thomas K. Worcester, Norjak: The Investigation of D.B. Cooper , 1986. Kay Melchisedech Olson, The D.B. Cooper Hijacking , 2011. Associated Press, "First D.B. Cooper Clue Discovered," Jan. 18, 1979. Associated Press, "Clue to D.B. Cooper's Fate Found by a Washington Family on Picnic," Feb. 13, 1980. Farida Fawzy, "D.B. Cooper: FBI Closes the Books 45 Years After Skyjacking Mystery," CNN, July 14, 2016. Christine Hauser, "Where Is D.B. Cooper? F.B.I. Ends 45-Year Hunt," New York Times , July 13, 2016. FBI, "D.B. Cooper Hijacking" (retrieved Sept. 18, 2016). FBI, "Update on Investigation of 1971 Hijacking by D.B. Cooper" (retrieved Sept. 18, 2016). David A. Graham and Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, "D.B. Cooper's Final Escape," Atlantic , July 12, 2016. Peter Holley, "The D.B. Cooper Case Has Baffled the FBI for 45 Years. Now It May Never Be Solved," Washington Post , July 12, 2016. Listener mail: Listener Mike Burn
Mon, September 26, 2016
Washington D.C.'s Hidden Tunnels
In 1924 a curious network of catacombs was discovered in Washington D.C. They were traced to Harrison Dyar, a Smithsonian entomologist who had been industriously digging tunnels in the city for almost two decades. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Dyar's strange hobby -- and the equally bizarre affairs in his personal life. We'll also revisit balloons in World War II and puzzle over a thief's change of heart. Intro: The melody of Peter Cornelius' 1854 composition "Ein Ton" is a single repeated note . Japanese puzzle maven Nob Yoshigahara devised this optical illusion . Sources for our feature on Harrison Dyar: Marc E. Epstein, Moths, Myths, and Mosquitoes , 2016. Marc E. Epstein and Pamela M. Henson, "Digging for Dyar: The Man Behind the Myth," American Entomologist 38:3 (July 1, 1992), 148-169. Ryan P. Smith, "The Bizarre Tale of the Tunnels, Trysts and Taxa of a Smithsonian Entomologist," Smithsonian , May 13, 2016. John Kelly, "Who Was Harrison G. Dyar?" , Washington Post , Oct. 27, 2012. John Kelly, "Inside the Tunnels of Washington's Mole Man, Harrison G. Dyar," Washington Post , Nov. 3, 2012. John Kelly, "A Final Look at D.C.'s Tunnel-Digging Bug Man," Washington Post , Nov. 7, 2012. Associated Press, "Secret Tunnels Shrouded in Mystery," Oct. 21, 1992. United Press, "Scientist Admits He Dug Tunnels That Caused Furore," Sept. 28, 1924. Modern Mechanics published this diagram
Mon, September 19, 2016
The Bear Who Went to War
During World War II a Polish transport company picked up an unusual mascot: a Syrian brown bear that grew to 500 pounds and traveled with his human friends through the Middle East and Europe. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Wojtek, the "happy warrior," and follow his adventures during and after the war. We'll also catch up with a Russian recluse and puzzle over a murderous daughter. Intro: In 1956, U.S. Navy pilot Tom Attridge overtook his cannon rounds and shot down his own plane . At Petersburg, Va., during the American Civil War, a Union and a Confederate bullet met in midair . Sources for our feature on Wojtek the shell-toting bruin: Aileen Orr, Wojtek the Bear , 2012. Karen Jensen, "Private Wojtek, Reporting for Duty," World War II 27:3 (September-October 2012), 54. The Wojtek Memorial Trust raised £250,000 to build Wojtek's memorial statue in Edinburgh. "Scottish District News," Glasgow Herald , Nov. 21, 1947. "Smarter Than the Average Bear ... by Far," Edinburgh News , March 28, 2007. David Sapsted, "Private Wojtek the 'Hero Bear' to be Honoured in Edinburgh," Abu Dhabi National , Jan. 7, 2012. David McCann, "Soldier Bear Wojtek to Be Given Statue in Edinburgh," Berwickshire Advertiser , Dec. 28, 2012. "Krakow Votes for WWII Soldier Bear Statue," Radio Poland, April 26, 2013. David McCann, "Prince Street Gardens Statue of Polish Army Bear," Scotsman , May 29, 2013. Alistair Grant, "Polish War Hero Bear Wojtek to Appear on Bus," Edinburgh Evening News , Nov. 11, 2014. Wojtek's unit, the 22nd Artillery Support Company of the 2nd Polish Cor
Mon, September 12, 2016
Starving for Science
During the siege of Leningrad in World War II, a heroic group of Russian botanists fought cold, hunger, and German attacks to keep alive a storehouse of crops that held the future of Soviet agriculture. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Vavilov Institute, whose scientists literally starved to death protecting tons of treasured food. We'll also follow a wayward sailor and puzzle over how to improve the safety of tanks. Intro: Tippi Hedren, star of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds , shared her home with a 400-pound lion . In 2009, a California consumer sued PepsiCo for implying that crunchberries are a fruit . Sources for our feature on Nikolai Vavilov: S.M. Alexanyan and V.I. Krivchenko, "Vavilov Institute Scientists Heroically Preserve World Plant Genetic Resources Collections During World War II Siege of Leningrad," Diversity 7:4 (1991), 10-13. James F. Crow, “N. I. Vavilov, Martyr to Genetic Truth,” Genetics 134:4 (May 1993). Olga Elina, Susanne Heim, and Nils Roll-Hansen, "Plant Breeding on the Front: Imperialism, War, and Exploitation," Osiris 20 (2005), 161-179. Peter Pringle, The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov , 2008. Boyce Rensberger, "Soviet Botanists Starved, Saving Seeds for Future," Washington Post , May 12, 1992. Michael Woods, “Soviet Union's Fall Threatens 'Gene Bank' for Food Crops,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , April 26, 1993. Joel I. Cohen and Igor G. Loskutov, “Exploring the Nature of Science Through Courage and Purpose,” SpringerPlus 5:1159 (2016). Listener mail: Peter Nichols, A Voyage for Madmen , 2001. Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall, The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst , 1970. Ed Caesar, "Drama on the Waves: The Life and Death of Donald Crowhurst," Independent , Oct. 27, 2006. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tommy Honton, who cites this source (warning: this link spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, <a href= "http://traffic.libsyn.com/futilityclose
Mon, September 05, 2016
The Barnes Mystery
In 1879 a ghastly crime gripped England: A London maid had dismembered her employer and then assumed her identity for two weeks, wearing her clothes and jewelry and selling her belongings. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the murder of Julia Thomas and its surprising modern postscript. We'll also discover the unlikely origins of a Mary Poppins character and puzzle over a penguin in a canoe. Intro: Early airplanes were sometimes attacked by confused eagles. Alberta, Canada, has been rat-free for 50 years. Sources for our feature on the murder of Julia Thomas: Elliott O'Donnell, ed., Trial of Kate Webster , 1925. Transcript of Kate Webster's trial at the Old Bailey. "The Richmond Murder," Glasgow Herald , May 29, 1879. "Kate Webster Hanged," Reading [Pa.] Eagle , July 31, 1879. Matt Blake, "Attenborough Skull Mystery Finally Solved," Independent , July 5, 2011. Cigdem Iltan, "The Skull in the Backyard," Maclean's 124:28 (July 25, 2011), 37. Park Road, Richmond, today. At left is the site of the former Mayfield Cottages, where the murder took place. At center is the home of naturalist Sir David Attenborough. At right is the site of the former Hole in the Wall pub. Thomas' skull was discovered in 2010 at the site of the pub's stables. Listener mail: GitHub, "System Bus Radio" (retrieved Sept. 2, 2016). Catalin Cimpanu, "Emitting Radio Waves From a Computer with No Radio-Transmitting Hardware," Softpedia, March 2, 2016. A 40-second rendition of the discarded Mary Poppins song "Admiral Boom."
Mon, August 29, 2016
Lost in the Taiga
In 1978 a team of geologists discovered a family of five living deep in the Siberian forest, 150 miles from the nearest village. Fearing persecution, they had lived entirely on their own since 1936, praying, tending a meager garden, and suffering through winter temperatures of 40 below zero. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet the Lykov family, whose religious beliefs committed them to "the greatest solitude on the earth." We'll also learn about Esperanto's role in a Spanish prison break and puzzle over a self-incriminating murderer. Intro: The London Review and Literary Journal of August 1796 records a cricket match "by eleven Greenwich Pensioners with one leg against eleven with one arm , for one thousand guineas, at the new Cricket ground, Montpelier Gardens, Walworth." The British Veterinary Journal of March 1888 reports that a Manchester horse fitted with eyeglasses "now stands all the morning looking over the half-door of his stable with his spectacles on, gazing around him with an air of sedate enjoyment." Sources for our feature on the Lykov family: Vasily Peskov, Lost in the Taiga , 1994. Mike Dash, "For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II," Smithsonian , Jan. 28, 2013. Russia Today, "From Taiga to Kremlin: A Hermit's Gifts for Medvedev," Feb. 24, 2010. Alexis Sostre, "Siberia: Woman Who Lived Her Entire Life in Wilderness Airlifted to Hospital," Sostre News, Jan. 16, 2016. Listener mail: The original article on the 1938 San Cristobál prison break, by Jose Antonio del Barrio, in Esperanto. An article (in Spanish) about the escape on del Barrio's blog. A description (in Spanish) of conditions in San Cristobál, by one of the successful escapees. A d
Mon, August 22, 2016
The Restless Corpse of Elmer McCurdy
In 1976 a television crew discovered a mummified corpse in a California funhouse. Unbelievably, an investigation revealed that it belonged to an Oklahoma outlaw who had been shot by sheriff's deputies in 1911 and whose remains had been traveling the country ever since. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the postmortem odyssey of Elmer McCurdy, "the bandit who wouldn't give up." We'll also reflect on a Dutch artist's disappearance and puzzle over some mysterious hospital deaths. Intro: In 1922, mechanical engineer Elis Stenman built a summer home with walls of varnished newspaper . Winston Churchill's country home Chartwell must always maintain a marmalade cat named Jock . Sources for our feature on Elmer McCurdy: Mark Svenvold, Elmer McCurdy , 2002. Robert Barr Smith, "After Elmer McCurdy's Days as a Badman, He -- or at Least His Corpse -- Had a Fine Second Career," Wild West 12:1 (June 1999), 24-26. United Press International, "Amusement Park Mummy Was Elmer McCurdy, a Wild West Desperado," Dec. 10, 1976. Associated Press, "Died With His Boots On," Dec. 11, 1976. Associated Press, "Wax Figure Maybe No Dummy, May Be Old Outlaw's Mummy," Dec. 12, 1976. Associated Press, "Elmer McCurdy Goes Home to Boot Hill," April 23, 1977. Listener mail: Alexander Dumbadze, Bas Jan Ader: Death Is Elsewhere , 2013. Jan Verwoert, Bas Jan Ader: In Search of the Miraculous , 2006. Brad Spence, "The Case of Bas Jan Ader," www.basjanader.com (accessed 08/18/2016) (PDF). Rachel Kent, "Pun to Paradox: Bas Jan Ader Revisited," Parkett 75 (2005), 177-181. Wikipedia, "Bas Jan Ader" (accessed 08/18/2016). Richard Dorment, "The Artist Who Sailed to Oblivion," Telegraph , May 9, 200
Mon, August 15, 2016
The Road to En-dor
In 1917 a pair of Allied officers combined a homemade Ouija board, audacity, and imagination to hoax their way out of a remote prison camp in the mountains of Turkey. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the remarkable escape of Harry Jones and Cedric Hill, which one observer called “the most colossal fake of modern times.” We'll also consider a cactus' role in World War II and puzzle over a cigar-smoking butler. Intro: A 1962 writer to the London Times contends that all thrushes "sooner or later sing the tune of the first subject of Mozart's G minor Symphony." The U.S. Senate maintains a tradition of hiding candy in a desk on the chamber floor. Sources for our feature on the Yozgad escape: E.H. Jones, The Road to En-dor , 1919. Tony Craven Walker's En-dor Unveiled (2014) ( PDF ) is a valuable source of background information, with descriptions of Harry Jones' early life; the siege of Kut-el-Amara, where he was captured; his punishing trek across Syria; the prison camp; and his life after the war. It includes many letters and postcards, including some hinting at his efforts toward an escape. S.P. MacKenzie, "The Ethics of Escape: British Officer POWs in the First World War," War in History 15:1 (January 2008), 1-16. "A Note for Spiritualists," The Field , March 27, 1920, 457. "Jones, Elias Henry," Dictionary of Welsh Biography (accessed 07/30/2016). "En-dor," in Rudyard Kipling's Verse , 1919. Listener mail: Associated Press, "Japanese Submarine Attack in California Unnerved U.S.," Feb. 23, 1992. William Scheck, "Japanese Submarine Commander Kozo Nishino Gained Personal Satisfaction From Shelling the California Coast," World War II 13:2 (July 1998), 16. Wikipedia, "Bombardment of Ellwood" (accessed Aug. 12, 2016). California Military Museum, "The Shelling of Ellwood" (accessed Aug. 12, 2016). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was adapted from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1998 book Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles .
Mon, August 08, 2016
Notes and Queries
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including the love affair that inspired the Rolls Royce hood ornament, a long-distance dancer, Otto von Bismarck's dogs, and a craftily plotted Spanish prison break. We'll also run after James Earl Ray and puzzle over an unsociable jockey. Intro: Workers constructing Washington's Grand Coulee Dam in 1942 fed a cable through a 500-foot drain by tying a string to an alley cat's tail . A 2001 earthquake in Olympia, Wash., drew a graceful rose with a sand-tracing pendulum . Sources for this week's feature: The best source I can find regarding the origins of the Rolls Royce hood ornament is this Telegraph article from 2008, in which Montagu's son says, "My father and Eleanor shared a great passion. It was a grand love affair - perhaps even the love of his life. All this happened before my father met my mother. But I understand my father's first wife knew about the mistress. She was very tolerant of her and they got on very well." But this quote is given in the service of promoting a film about the affair, which makes it less objective than I'd like. (Paul Tritton of the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club of Australia disputes the story here .) Alexandre Dumas' habit of eating an apple every morning beneath the Arc de Triomphe is described in this New York Times article , among many other modern sources. The earliest mention I can find is a 1911 article in the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette , attributing the intervention to Hungarian physician David Gruby. I've confirmed that Gruby served as a physician to Dumas (père et fils), but I can't find anything about an apple. The incidents of the Savoy Hotel cloakroom and the Travellers Club suicide are both described in N.T.P. Murphy's A Wodehouse Handbook (2013). The suicide rule is mentioned at the end of this Telegraph article , which gives me hope that it'
Mon, July 25, 2016
Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier
After the Battle of Gettysburg, a dead Union soldier was found near the center of town. He bore no identification, but in his hands he held a photograph of three children. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the efforts of one Philadelphia physician to track down the lost man's family using only the image of his children. We'll also sample a 9-year-old's comedy of manners and puzzle over a letter that copies itself. Intro: The mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, is a cat named Stubbs. According to multiple sources, the 3rd Earl of Darnley, an eccentric bachelor, suffered from the delusion that he was a teapot . Sources for our feature on Amos Humiston: Mark H. Dunkelman, Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier , 1999. Mark H. Dunkelman, "Key to a Mystery," American History 32:2 (May/June 1997), 16-20. Errol Morris, "Whose Father Was He?" (parts 1-5), New York Times , March 29-April 5, 2009. Ronald S. Coddington, "At Gettysburg, Life Imitates Art," Military Images 34:3 (Summer 2016), 54-55. "Visit Recalls Wartime Story," Gettysburg, Pa., Star and Sentinel , Oct. 28, 1914. The full text of Daisy Ashford's The Young Visiters , including J.M. Barrie's preface, is on Project Gutenberg . This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener TJ. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us
Mon, July 18, 2016
The Desperation of Donald Crowhurst
In 1968 British engineer Donald Crowhurst entered a round-the-world yacht race, hoping to use the prize money to save his failing electronics business. Woefully unprepared and falling behind, he resorted to falsifying a journey around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the desperate measures that Crowhurst turned to as events spiraled out of his control. We'll also get some updates on Japanese fire balloons and puzzle over a computer that turns on the radio. Intro: The stones at Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park chime like bells when struck with a hammer . Sand dunes that "sing" when walked upon are found at 35 sites around the world. In 1884 two scientists notated the sounds on a musical scale . Sources for our feature on Donald Crowhurst: Peter Nichols, A Voyage for Madmen , 2001. Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall, The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst , 1970. Associated Press, "Briton Missing in Global Race," July 10, 1969. Associated Press, "Mystery Shrouds Lone Sailor's Fate," July 12, 1969. Associated Press, "Search Ends for Voyager," July 12, 1969. Associated Press, "Lost Yacht Racer Sent Fake Reports," July 25, 1969. Associated Press, "Log Shows Yachtsman Never Left Atlantic in Race Round World," July 28, 1969. AAP-Reuters, "Lost Sailor 'Stayed in Atlantic,'" July 28, 1969. "Mutiny of the Mind," Time 94:6 (Aug. 8, 1969), 59. Ed Caesar, "Drama on the Waves: The Life and Death of Donald Crowhurst," Independent , Oct. 27, 2006. Robert McCrum, <a href= "https://www.thegua
Mon, July 11, 2016
The Battle Over Mother's Day
Anna Jarvis organized the first observance of Mother's Day in 1908 and campaigned to have the holiday adopted throughout the country. But her next four decades were filled with bitterness and acrimony as she watched her "holy day" devolve into a "burdensome, wasteful, expensive gift-day." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow the evolution of Mother's Day and Jarvis' belligerent efforts to control it. We'll also meet a dog that flummoxed the Nazis and puzzle over why a man is fired for doing his job too well. Intro: For its December 1897 issue, The Strand engaged three acrobats to create a "human alphabet." In 1989 researchers discovered a whale in the Pacific that calls at 52 hertz -- the only one of its kind. Sources for our feature on Anna Jarvis: Katharine Lane Antolini, Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Struggle for the Control for Mother's Day , 2014. Katharine Lane Antolini, "The Woman Behind Mother's Day," Saturday Evening Post 288:3 (May/June 2016), 82-86. “Miss Anna Jarvis Has New Program for Mother's Day,” The [New London, Conn.] Day , May 9, 1912. “The Forgotten Mother of Mother's Day,” Milwaukee Journal , May 13, 1944. “Founder of Mother's Day Dies Penniless, Blind at 84,” Pittsburgh Press , Nov. 26, 1948. Cynthia Lowry, “Woman Responsible for Mother's Day Died Without Sympathy for Way It Turned Out,” Associated Press, May 4, 1958. Associated Press, “Mrs. Anna Jarvis Inspires 'Mother's Day' Observance,” May 10, 1959. Daniel Mark Epstein, “The Mother of Mother's Day,” Toledo Blade , May 3, 1987. Marshall S. Berdan, "Change of Heart," Smithsonian 38:2 (May 2007), 116-116. Jackie the parodic Dalmatian: "Hitler-Saluting Dog Outraged Nazis,"
Mon, July 04, 2016
The Disappearance of Michael Rockefeller
In 1961, Michael Rockefeller disappeared after a boating accident off the coast of Dutch New Guinea. Ever since, rumors have circulated that the youngest son of the powerful Rockefeller family had been killed by the headhunting cannibals who lived in the area. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll recount Rockefeller's story and consider the different fates that might have befallen him. We'll also learn more about the ingenuity of early sportscasters and puzzle over a baffled mechanic. Sources for our feature on Michael Rockefeller: Carl Hoffman, Savage Harvest , 2014. Associated Press, "Rockefeller's Son Killed by Tribes?" , Nov. 19, 1971. Peter Kihss, "Governor's Son Is Missing Off Coast of New Guinea," New York Times , Nov. 20, 1961. United Press International, "Rockefeller to Join in Search for Missing Son," Nov. 20, 1961. United Press International, "Michael Rockefeller Had Been Told to End Quest for Native Trophies," Nov. 21, 1961. Associated Press, "Missionaries Join Rockefeller Search," Nov. 22, 1961. United Press International, "Searchers for Michael Rockefeller Pessimistic," Nov. 22, 1961. "Hope Wanes for Michael Rockefeller," St. Petersburg Times , Nov. 24, 1961. Milt Freudenheim, "Michael Rockefeller Unusual Rich Man's Son," Pittsburgh Press , Dec. 10, 1961. Barbara Miller, "Michael Rockfeller's Legacy," Toledo Blade , Sept. 2, 1962. Associated Press, "Young Michael Rockefeller Missing Almost 5 Years," Oct. 21, 1966. Mary Rockefeller Morgan, "A Loss Like No Other," Psychol
Mon, June 27, 2016
Japanese Fire Balloons
Toward the end of World War II, Japan launched a strange new attack on the United States: thousands of paper balloons that would sail 5,000 miles to drop bombs on the American mainland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the curious story of the Japanese fire balloons, the world's first intercontinental weapon. We'll also discuss how to tell time by cannon and puzzle over how to find a lost tortoise. Sources for our feature on Japanese fire balloons: Ross Coen, Fu-Go , 2014. James M. Powles, "Silent Destruction: Japanese Balloon Bombs," World War II 17:6 (February 2003), 64. Edwin L. Pierce and R C. Mikesh, "Japan's Balloon Bombers," Naval History 6:1 (Spring 1992), 53. Lisa Murphy, "One Small Moment," American History 30:2 (June 1995), 66. Larry Tanglen, "Terror Floated Over Montana: Japanese World War II Balloon Bombs, 1944-1945," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 52:4 (Winter 2002), 76-79. Henry Stevenson, "Balloon Bombs: Japan to North America," B.C. Historical News 28:3 (Summer 1995), 22-23. Associated Press, "Japanese Balloon Bombs Launched in Homeland," May 30, 1945. Associated Press, "Japanese Launch Balloon Bombs Against United States From Their Home Islands," May 30, 1945. Associated Press, "Balloon Bombs Fall One by One for Miles Over West Coast Area," May 30, 1945. Russell Brines, "Japs Gave Up Balloon Bomb System After Launching 9,000 of Them," Associated Press, Oct. 2, 1945. "Enemy Balloons Are Still Found," Spokane Daily Chronicle , Feb. 5, 1946. Hal Schindler, "Utah Was Spared Damage By Japan's Floating Weapons," Salt Lake Tribune , May 5, 1995. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Time Ball" (accessed June 16, 2016). Wikipedia, "Nelson Monument, Edinburgh" (accessed June 16, 2016). <a href= "http://www.edinburghcast
Mon, June 20, 2016
The Brooklyn Chameleon
Over the span of half a century, Brooklyn impostor Stanley Clifford Weyman impersonated everyone from a Navy admiral to a sanitation expert. When caught, he would admit his deception, serve his jail time, and then take up a new identity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll review Weyman's surprisingly successful career and describe some of his more audacious undertakings. We'll also puzzle over why the police would arrest an unremarkable bus passenger. Sources for our feature on Stanley Clifford Weyman: St. Clair McKelway, The Big Little Man From Brooklyn , 1969. Alan Hynd, "Grand Deception -- 'Fabulous Fraud From Brooklyn,'" Spokane Daily Chronicle , April 13, 1956. Tom Henshaw, "Bygone State Visits Marked by Incidents," Associated Press, Sept. 13, 1959. John F. Murphy, "Notorious Impostor Shot Dead Defending Motel in Hold-Up," New York Times , Aug. 28, 1960. Richard Grenier, "Woody Allen on the American Character," Commentary 76:5 (November 1983), 61-65. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Josva Dammann Kvilstad. Here are three corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you f
Sun, June 12, 2016
Trapped in a Cave
In 1925, Kentucky caver Floyd Collins was exploring a new tunnel when a falling rock caught his foot, trapping him 55 feet underground. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the desperate efforts to free Collins, whose plight became one of the first popular media sensations of the 20th century. We'll also learn how Ronald Reagan invented a baseball record and puzzle over a fatal breakfast. Sources for our feature on Floyd Collins: Robert K. Murray and Roger W. Brucker, Trapped! , 1979. Gary Alan Fine and Ryan D. White, "Creating Collective Attention in the Public Domain: Human Interest Narratives and the Rescue of Floyd Collins," Social Forces 81:1 (September 2002), 57-85. "Floyd Collins Is Found Dead," Madison Lake [Minn.] Times , Feb. 19, 1925. Associated Press, "Sand Cave Is to Be Grave of Explorer," Feb. 18, 1925. Associated Press, "Floyd Collins Will Be Left in Sand Cave for His Last Sleep," Feb. 18, 1925. Associated Press, "Ancient 'Floyd Collins' Found in Mammoth Cave," June 19, 1935. Ray Glenn, "Floyd Collins Trapped in Cave 35 Years Ago," Park City [Ky.] Daily News , Feb. 7, 1960. Carl C. Craft, "Floyd Collins Case Recalled After 40 Years," Kentucky New Era , Feb. 1, 1965. William Burke Miller, "40 Years Ago, World Prayed for Floyd Collins," Eugene [Ore.] Register-Guard , Feb. 11, 1965. Paul Raupp, "Floyd Collins Finds Final Resting Place," Bowling Green [Ky.] Daily News , March 26, 1989. Listener mail: Howard Breuer et al., "Dumb Criminals," People 81:1 (Jan. 13, 20
Mon, June 06, 2016
The Greenwich Time Lady
As recently as 1939, a London woman made her living by setting her watch precisely at the Greenwich observatory and "carrying the time" to her customers in the city. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Ruth Belville, London's last time carrier, who conducted her strange occupation for 50 years. We'll also sample the colorful history of bicycle races and puzzle over a stymied prizewinner. Sources for our feature on Ruth Belville: David Rooney, Ruth Belville: The Greenwich Time Lady , 2008. Ian R. Bartky, Selling the True Time , 2000. Patricia Fara, "Modest Heroines of Time and Space," Nature , Oct. 30, 2008. Stephen Battersby, "The Lady Who Sold Time," New Scientist , Feb. 25, 2006. Carlene E. Stephens, "Ruth Belville: The Greenwich Time Lady," Technology and Culture 51:1 (January 2010), 248-249. Michael R. Matthews, Colin Gauld, and Arthur Stinner, "The Pendulum: Its Place in Science, Culture and Pedagogy," in Michael R. Matthews, Colin F. Gauld, and Arthur Stinner, eds., The Pendulum: Scientific, Historical, Philosophical and Educational Perspectives , 2005. Listener mail: Eric Niiler, "Tour de France: Top 10 Ways the Race Has Changed," Seeker, June 29, 2013. Julian Barnes, "The Hardest Test: Drugs and the Tour de France," New Yorker , Aug. 21, 2000. Race Across America. Wikipedia, "Race Across America" (accessed June 3, 2016). Wikipedia, "Trans Am Bike Race" (accessed June 3, 2016). Neil Beltchenko, "2014 Trans Am Race," Bikepackers Magazine , June 6, 2014. Trans Am Bike Race 2016. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tommy Honton, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or <a href= "https://play.google.com/music/listen?gclid=CLGtm
Sun, May 29, 2016
Arthur Nash and the Golden Rule
In 1919, Ohio businessman Arthur Nash decided to run his clothing factory according to the Golden Rule and treat his workers the way he'd want to be treated himself. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll visit Nash's “Golden Rule Factory” and learn the results of his innovative social experiment. We'll also marvel at metabolism and puzzle over the secrets of Chicago pickpockets. Sources for our feature on Arthur Nash: Arthur Nash, The Golden Rule in Business , 1923. (Undercover journalist Ruth White Colton's September 1922 article for Success Magazine is quoted in full in this book.) Jeffrey Wattles, The Golden Rule , 1996. Arthur Nash, "A Bible Text That Worked a Business Miracle," American Magazine 92:4 (October 1921), 37. "Golden Rule Plan at Clothing Mill Makes Profits for Owners," Deseret News , Dec. 16, 1920. "Golden Rule Nash Offers 7-Hour Day," Schenectady Gazette , July 4, 1923. "Arthur Nash, Who Shared With Employees, Is Dead," Associated Press, Oct. 31, 1927. The poem "Miss T." appears in Walter de la Mare's 1913 collection Peacock Pie : It’s a very odd thing — As odd as can be — That whatever Miss T. eats Turns into Miss T.; Porridge and apples, Mince, muffins and mutton, Jam, junket, jumbles — Not a rap, not a button It matters; the moment They're out of her plate, Though shared by Miss Butcher And sour Mr. Bate; Tiny and cheerful, And neat as can be, Whatever Miss T. eats Turns into Miss T. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is taken from Henry O. Wills' memorably titled 1890 autobiography Twice Born: Or, The Two Lives of Henry O. Wills, Evangelist (Being a Narrative of Mr. Wills's Remarkable Experiences as a Wharf-Rat, a Sneak-Thief, a Convict, a Soldier, a Bounty-Jumper, a Fakir, a Fireman, a Ward-Heeler, and a Plug-Ugly. Also, a History of His Most Wondrous Conversion to God, and of His Famous Achievements as an Evangelist) . You can listen using
Mon, May 23, 2016
The Popgun War
During wargames in Louisiana in September 1941, the U.S. Army found itself drawn into a tense firefight with an unseen enemy across the Cane River. The attacker turned out to be three boys with a toy cannon. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll revisit the Battle of Bermuda Bridge and the Prudhomme brothers' account of their historic engagement. We'll also rhapsodize on guinea pigs and puzzle over some praiseworthy incompetence. Sources for our feature on the "Battle of Bermuda Bridge": Elizabeth M. Collins, "Patton 'Bested' at the Battle of Bermuda Bridge," Soldiers 64:9 (September 2009), 10-12. Terry Isbell, "The Battle of the Bayous: The Louisiana Maneuvers," Old Natchitoches Parish Magazine 2 (1997), 2-7. Special thanks to the staff at the University of North Carolina's Wilson Library for access to the Prudhomme family records. Listener mail: Alastair Bland, "From Pets To Plates: Why More People Are Eating Guinea Pigs," The Salt, National Public Radio, April 2, 2013. Christine Dell'Amore, "Guinea Pigs Were Widespread as Elizabethan Pets," National Geographic , Feb. 9, 2012. Wikipedia, "Guinea Pig" (accessed May 20, 2016). David Adam, "Why Use Guinea Pigs in Animal Testing?" , Guardian , Aug. 25, 2005. Maev Kennedy, "Elizabethan Portraits Offer Snapshot of Fashion for Exotic Pets," Guardian , Aug. 20, 2013. "How Did the Guinea Pig Get Its Name?" , Grammarphobia, Dec. 22, 2009. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tommy Honton, who sent these corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on <a href= "https://itunes.ap
Sun, May 08, 2016
Surviving on Seawater
In 1952, French physician Alain Bombard set out to cross the Atlantic on an inflatable raft to prove his theory that a shipwreck victim can stay alive on a diet of seawater, fish, and plankton. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll set out with Bombard on his perilous attempt to test his theory. We'll also admire some wobbly pedestrians and puzzle over a luckless burglar. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Alain Bombard: Alain Bombard, The Voyage of the Hérétique , 1953. William H. Allen, "Thirst," Natural History , December 1956. Richard T. Callaghan, "Drift Voyages Across the Mid-Atlantic," Antiquity 89:345 (2015), 724-731. T.C. Macdonald, "Drinking Sea-Water," British Medical Journal 1:4869 (May 1, 1954), 1035. Dominique Andre, "Sea Fever," Unesco Courier , July/August 1998. N.B. Marshall, "Review: The Voyage of L'hérétique ," Geographical Journal 120:1 (March 1954), 83-87. Douglas Martin, "Alain Bombard, 80, Dies; Sailed the Atlantic Alone," New York Times , July 24, 2005. Anthony Smith, "Obituary: Alain Bombard," Guardian , Aug. 24, 2005. John Scott Hughes, "Deep Sea in Little Ships," The Field , May 27, 1954. "Will This Be Another 'Kon Tiki'?" The Sphere , June 7, 1952. "Mishap And Survival At Sea," The Sphere , April 2, 1955. Bryan Kasmenn, "Teach a Man to Fish ...," Flying Safety 57:5 (May 2001), 20. Listener mail: National Public Radio, "In The 1870s And '80s, Being A Pedestrian Was Anything But," April 3, 2014. Wikipedia, "Edward Payson Weston" (accessed May 7, 2016). Wikipedia, "6 Day Race" (accessed May 7, 2016). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was adapted from the book Lateral Mindtrap Puzzles (2000). Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above,
Mon, May 02, 2016
The Harvey's Casino Bombing
In August 1980, an extortionist planted a thousand-pound bomb inHarvey’s Wagon Wheel Casino in western Nevada. Unless the ownerspaid him $3 million within 24 hours, he said, the bomb would go offand destroy the casino. In this week's episode of the FutilityCloset podcast we'll describe the tense drama that followed and theFBI's efforts to catch the criminal behind it. We'll also consider some dubious lawn care shortcuts and puzzleover why a man would tear up a winning ticket. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- onour Patreonpage you can pledge any amount per episode, and allcontributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancelyour pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to helpthank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate buttonin the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the Harvey's bombing: Jim Sloan, Render Safe: The Untold Story of the Harvey'sBombing , 2011. Adam Higginbotham, "1,000 Pounds of Dynamite," The Atavist 39. "5 Charged in Harveys Bombing," Associated Press, Aug. 17,1981. "Five Suspects Arrested in Harvey's Extortion Bombing," Associated Press, Aug. 17, 1981. "Son Pitted Against Father in Harvey's Bombing Trial," Associated Press, Oct. 17, 1982. Robert Macy, "Ex-Freedom Fighter Found Guilty of Bombing Hotel," Telegraph , Oct. 23, 1982. Melinda Beck, "A Real Harvey's Wallbanger," Newsweek ,Sept. 8, 1980. Phillip L. Sublett, "30Years Later: Trail of Clues Led Authorities to Harvey's CasinoBombers," Tahoe Daily Tribune , Aug. 28, 2010. Guy Clifton, "35 Years Ago Today: The Bomb That Shook Lake Tahoe," RenoGazette-Journal , Aug. 26, 2015. A brief FBI article about the case. <a href="https://www.
Sun, April 24, 2016
Legislating Pi
In 1897, confused physician Edward J. Goodwin submitted a bill to the Indiana General Assembly declaring that he'd squared the circle -- a mathematical feat that was known to be impossible. In today's show we'll examine the Indiana pi bill, its colorful and eccentric sponsor, and its celebrated course through a bewildered legislature and into mathematical history. We'll also marvel at the confusion wrought by turkeys and puzzle over a perplexing baseball game. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the Indiana pi bill: Edward J. Goodwin, "Quadrature of the Circle," American Mathematical Monthly 1:7 (July 1894), 246–248. Text of the bill. Underwood Dudley, "Legislating Pi," Math Horizons 6:3 (February 1999), 10-13. Will E. Edington, “House Bill No. 246, Indiana State Legislature, 1897,” Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 45, 206-210. Arthur E. Hallerberg, "House Bill No. 246 Revisited," Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 84 (1974), 374–399. Arthur E. Hallerberg, "Indiana's Squared Circle," Mathematics Magazine 50:3 (May 1977), 136–140. David Singmaster, "The Legal Values of Pi," Mathematical Intelligencer 7:2 (1985), 69–72. Listener mail: Zach Goldhammer, "Why Americans Call Turkey 'Turkey,'" Atlantic , Nov. 26, 2014. Dan Jurafsky, "Turkey," The Language of Food, Nov. 23, 2010 (accessed April 21, 2016). Accidental acrostics from Julian Bravo: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : STASIS starts at line 7261 (“Says I to myself” in Chapter XXVI). Frankenstein : CASSIA starts at line 443 (“Certainly; it would indeed be very impertinent” in Letter 4). MIGHTY starts at line 7089 (“Margaret, what comment can I make” in Chapter 24). Moby Dick : BAIT starts
Mon, April 18, 2016
The Bunion Derby
In 1928, 199 runners set out on a perilous 3,400-mile footrace across America, from Los Angeles to Chicago and on to New York. The winner would receive $25,000 -- if anyone finished at all. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Trans-American Footrace, better known as the Bunion Derby, billed as the greatest footrace the world had ever known. We'll also learn some creepy things about spiders and puzzle over why one man needs three cars. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the Trans-American Footrace: Charles B. Kastner, The Bunion Derby , 2007. "Mr. Pyle's Professional Bunion Derby," Pittsburgh Press , April 19, 1928. "Payne Wins First Prize in Pyle's Bunion Derby," Associated Press, May 27, 1928. "C.C. Pyle Hopes Bunion Derby to Net Him Profit," Ottawa Citizen , March 29, 1929. "Sport: Bunion Derby," Time , June 24, 1929, 58. "Bunion Derby' Hero Elected," Associated Press, Nov. 8, 1934. "Bunion Derby Director Dies," Associated Press, Feb. 4, 1939. "Mapping the Way," Runner's World , July 1992, 94. "Harry Abrams Is Dead at 87; Ran Across the Country Twice," New York Times , Nov. 28, 1994. Jack Rockett, "The Great 'Bunion Derby,'" Runner's World , Nov. 7, 2006. Laura Ruttum, "Endurance Racing: First Leg, the Bunion Derby," New York Public Library, April 2, 2010. Some footage from the race -- winner Andy Payne wears number 43: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.yo
Mon, April 11, 2016
Jerome
In 1863 the residents of Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia, discovered a legless man on the shore of St. Mary's Bay. He spoke no English and could not tell them who he was or where he had come from. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of "Jerome" and what is known or guessed of his past. We'll also learn about explosive rats in World War II and puzzle over a computer that works better when its users sit. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Jerome: Fraser Mooney Jr., Jerome: Solving the Mystery of Nova Scotia's Silent Castaway , 2008. "The Mystery of the Man at Meteghan," St. John Daily Sun , Sept. 8, 1905. Harriet Hill, "Mystery Fascinates," Montreal Gazette , June 14, 1963. Andrea MacDonald, "Legless-Man Mystery Revealed," Halifax Daily News , Aug. 30, 2006. Brian Flemming, "Maritime Mysteries Still Enthrall," Halifax Daily News , Sept. 5, 2006. Noah Richler, "The Legless Castaway," Literary Review of Canada , March 1, 2009. Ian Cameron, "The Frozen Man of Queens County," Canadian Family Physician , August 2009. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Explosive Rat" (accessed April 9, 2016). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Jed Link, who sent this corroborating link (warning: this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross
Mon, April 04, 2016
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are five new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a couple of places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Hotel: Listener Paul Sophocleous Train: Listener Sean Gilbertson Safe ( more information ): Listener David White Robber ( more information ): Sharon Ross Murder: Paul Sloane and Des MacHale, Intriguing Lateral Thinking Puzzles , 1996 You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, March 28, 2016
Notes and Queries
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll take a tour through some oddities and unanswered questions from our research, including whether a spider saved Frederick the Great's life, a statue with the wrong face, and a spectacularly disaster-prone oil tanker. We'll also revisit the lost soldiers of World War I and puzzle over some curiously lethal ship cargo. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for this week's feature: The story about Frederick the Great is from Ebenezer Cobham Brewer's The Reader's Handbook of Famous Names in Fiction, Allusions, References, Proverbs, Plots, Stories, and Poems , 1899. The footnote about spiders and flashlights accompanies J.D. Memory's poem "The Eightfold Way, Lie Algebra, and Spider Hunting in the Dark" in Mathematics Magazine 79:1 (February 2006), 74. The case of the self-abnegating heir is cited as Beamish v. Beamish , 9 H.L.C. 274, 11 Eng. Rep. 735 (1861) in Peter Suber's 1990 book The Paradox of Self-Amendment . John Waterhouse's 1899 proof of the Pythagorean theorem appears in Elisha Scott Loomis' 1940 book The Pythagorean Proposition . My notes say it's also in Scientific American , volume 82, page 356. The story of the ill-starred oil tanker Argo Merchant is taken from Stephen Pile's 1979 Book of Heroic Failures . For an exceptionally well-reported history of the ship, see Ron Winslow's 1978 book Hard Aground . Physicist Leonard Mlodinow recounts the story of Antoine Lavoisier's statue in The Upright Thinkers (2015). A contemporary description of the unveiling is here , but it mentions nothing amiss. Ross Eckler addresses accidental acrostics in Making the Alphabet Dance , 1997. F.R. Benson's iambic ponging is mentioned in Jonathan Law, ed., Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre , 2013. William Kendal's accomplished blanching is described in Eric Johns' Dames of the Theatre , 1975. In The Book of the Harp (2005), John Marson notes that Luigi Ferrari Trecate's Improvviso da Concerto (1947), for the left hand, is dedicated to harpist Aida Ferretti Orsini, described as grande mutilata di guerre . Mable LaRose'
Mon, March 21, 2016
The St. Albans Raid
Seemingly safe in northern New England, the residents of St. Albans, Vermont, were astonished in October 1864 when a group of Confederate soldiers appeared in their midst, terrorizing residents, robbing banks, and stealing horses. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the St. Albans raid, the northernmost land action of the Civil War. We'll also learn about Charles Darwin's misadventures at the equator and puzzle over a groundskeeper's strange method of tending grass. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the St. Albans raid: Dennis K. Wilson, Justice Under Pressure: The Saint Albans Raid and Its Aftermath , 1992. Robin W. Winks, The Civil War Years: Canada and the United States , 1998. Stuart Lutz, "Terror in St. Albans," Civil War Times Illustrated 40:3 (June 2001). Rick Beard, "When the Rebels Invaded Vermont," New York Times , Oct. 17, 2014. "A Reminiscence of the St. Albans Raid," Montreal Daily Witness , April 5, 1878. "Confederate Raid on St. Albans, Vt.," Pittsburgh Gazette Times , Oct 21, 1914. "Leader of Raid on St. Albans, Vermont, Centre of Controversy at Champlain Celebration," Boston Evening Transcript , May 9, 1912. Edgar Andrew Collard, "Of Many Things ...," Montreal Gazette , March 28, 1969. "English View of the St. Albans Raid Case," Halifax Morning Chronicle , Jan. 24, 1865. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Line-Crossing Ceremony" (acc
Mon, March 14, 2016
The Villisca Ax Murders
Early one morning in 1912, the residents of Villisca, Iowa, discovered a horrible scene: An entire family had been brutally murdered in their sleep. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the gruesome crime, which has baffled investigators for a hundred years. We'll also follow the further adventures of German sea ace Felix von Luckner and puzzle over some fickle bodyguards. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the Villisca ax murders: Roy Marshall, Villisca , 2003. “Suspect Is Held for Ax Murders,” [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman-Review , May 15, 1917. “Says He Killed Eight at God's Command,” New York Times , Sept. 2, 1917. “Tells of Killing Six With an Axe in 1912,” Associated Press, March 29, 1931. “Iowa Town Marks 90th Anniversary of Unsolved Ax Murders,” Associated Press, June 9, 2002. “Infamous Villisca Ax Donated to Villisca Historical Society,” Spencer [Iowa] Daily Reporter , Oct. 31, 2006. Listener Rini Rikka writes, " Doch is very hard to comprehend for someone who is just starting to learn German. Besides the main usage as a short answer, it has lots of other meanings that help shorten the speech a bit. Unfortunately for the non-natives, those other meanings cannot always be translated with the same word, but with some practice you'll get the feeling where and how to use it. If you'd like to read about it, here’s a good explanation of the word in English ." This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent these corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, <a href="http:
Mon, March 07, 2016
The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara
On June 23, 1858, the Catholic Church removed 6-year-old Edgardo Mortara from his family in Bologna. The reason they gave was surprising: The Mortaras were Jewish, and Edgardo had been secretly baptized. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of little Edgardo and learn how his family's plight shaped the course of Italian history. We'll also hear Ben Franklin's musings on cultural bigotry and puzzle over an unexpected soccer riot. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Edgardo Mortara: David I. Kertzer, The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara , 1997. Bruce A. Boyer and Steven Lubet, "The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara: Contemporary Lessons in the Child Welfare Wars," Villanova Law Review 45 (2000), 245. Steven Lubet, "Judicial Kidnapping, Then and Now: The Case of Edgardo Mortara," Northwestern University Law Review 93:3 (Spring 1999), 961. Donald L. Kinzer, "Review: The American Reaction to the Mortara Case, 1858-1859," Mississippi Valley Historical Review 44:4 (March 1958), 740-741. Alexander Stille, "How a Jewish Boy's Baptism Changed the Shape of Italy: The Notorious Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara," Forward , Aug. 1, 1997. "Pope John Paul Faces Politics of Sainthood," Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2000. Ellen Knickmeyer, "Pope Moves Two Toward Sainthood," Spartanburg [S.C.] Herald-Journal , Sept. 4, 2000. Garry Wills, "The Vatican Monarchy," New York Review of Books , Feb. 19, 1998. Garry Wills, "Popes Making Popes Saints," New York Review of Books , July 9, 2013. Justin Kroll, "Steven Spielberg Boards Religious Drama ‘Edgardo Mortara’," Variety , April 17, 2014. Ben Franklin's
Mon, February 29, 2016
A New Day at Charleston
In 1862, slave Robert Smalls was working as a pilot aboard a Confederate transport ship in Charleston, S.C., when he seized a unique chance to escape. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow his daring predawn journey, which rescued 17 people from slavery and changed the course of South Carolina history. We'll also reflect on justice for bears and puzzle over a hijacker's surprising request. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Robert Smalls: Andrew Billingsley, Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families , 2007. Kitt Haley Alexander, Robert Smalls: First Black Civil War Hero , 2001. Peggy Cooper Davis, “Introducing Robert Smalls,” Fordham Law Review 69:5 (April 2001), 1695. “Robert Smalls,” American National Biography Online, accessed Feb. 14, 2016. Henry Louis Gates Jr., “Which Slave Sailed Himself to Freedom?” , PBS.org (accessed Feb. 14, 2016). Micah White, “Black History Unsung Heroes: Robert Smalls,” biography.com, Feb 9, 2015. “Smalls, Robert,” History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives (accessed Feb. 14, 2016). Blain Roberts and Ethan J. Kytle, “Robert Smalls's Great Escape,” New York Times , May 12, 2012. Avis Thomas-Lester, “Civil War Hero Robert Smalls Seized the Opportunity to Be Free,” Washington Post , March 2, 2012. Amy Geier Edgar, “Bill Would Honor Black Pioneer in Business, Politics,” Associated Press, March 26, 2004. Listener mail: Todd Wilkinson, "What Do You Do With a Bear That Kil
Mon, February 22, 2016
The Living Unknown Soldier
A quarter million Frenchmen vanished in World War I, leaving their families no clue whether they were still alive. During these anxious years, a lone man appeared on a Lyon railway platform without memory, possessions, or identification. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the strange story of Anthelme Mangin, whose enigmatic case attracted hundreds of desperate families. We'll also consider some further oddities of constitutional history and puzzle over an unpopular baseball victory. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Anthelme Mangin: Jean-Yves Le Naour, The Living Unknown Soldier , 2005. Martha Hanna, "The Tidal Wave of War," European History Quarterly 38:1 (January 2008), 93-100. Stefan Goebel, "Review: Beyond Discourse? Bodies and Memories of Two World Wars," Journal of Contemporary History 42:2 (April 2007), 377-385. Carole Blair, V. William Balthrop, and Neil Michel, "The Arguments of the Tombs of the Unknown: Relationality and National Legitimation," Argumentation 25:4 (November 2011), 449-468. "Unknown Soldier Claimed as Own by 15 Families," Reading [Pa.] Eagle , March 19, 1926. Minott Saunders, "Two Mothers Battle for Memoryless War Veteran," Ottawa Citizen , June 30, 1928. "French Derelict Is Unidentified," Eugene [Ore.] Register-Guard , July 2, 1928. Adam Nicolson, "A Living Ghost From the Trenches Whose Plight Confused a Nation Riven by Grief," Telegraph , Jan. 16, 2005. Listener mail: Hershey Community Archives , in particular the history of the Hershey bar . Wikipedia, <a
Mon, February 08, 2016
The Old Flying Days
In the early days of English aviation, journalist C.C. Turner seemed to be everywhere, witnessing bold new feats and going on some harrowing adventures of his own. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll sample Turner's record of Edwardian aviation, including his own clumsy first attempt to fly an airplane and a record-setting balloon voyage to Sweden. We'll also ponder the nuances of attempted murder and puzzle over a motel guest's noisemaking. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on early aviation in England: Charles Cyril Turner, The Old Flying Days , 1927. Charles Cyril Turner, The Marvels of Aviation , 1917. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listeners J.C. and Brenna Lundberg, who found it in this collection . Sources for listener mail: Wikipedia, "Death of Sammy Yatim" (accessed Feb. 2, 2016). Diana Mehta, "Toronto Cop Found Not Guilty of Murdering Sammy Yatim, But Is Found Guilty of Attempted Murder," National Post , Jan. 25, 2016. Jillian Bell, "Forcillo Attempted Murder Verdict Explained," CBC News, Jan. 25, 2016. Alyshah Hasham, "Forcillo Guilty of Attempted Murder in Shooting Death of Sammy Yatim," Toronto Star , Jan. 25, 2016. Wendy Gillis and Alyshah Hasham, "'Mystery' Charge Only One That Sticks in Sammy Yatim Slaying," Toronto Star , Jan. 25, 2016. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at <a
Mon, February 01, 2016
The Forgotten Amendment
In 1982, college sophomore Gregory Watson got a C on a term paper arguing that a long-forgotten constitutional amendment could still be ratified. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow his 10-year mission to prove his professor wrong and get the amendment added to the Constitution. We'll also learn an underhanded way to win a poetry contest and puzzle over how someone can murder a corpse. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. This week's feature on the 27th amendment was suggested by listener Steve Winters. Sources: Richard B. Bernstein, "The Sleeper Wakes: The History and Legacy of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment," Fordham Law Review 61:3, 497-557. John Heltman, "27th Amendment or Bust," American Prospect , May 30, 2012. "Historical Highlights: The 27th Amendment," History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives (accessed Jan. 17, 2016). "Amendment XXVII: Congressional Compensation," National Constitution Center (accessed Jan. 17, 2016). Richard L. Berke, "1789 Amendment Is Ratified But Now the Debate Begins," New York Times , May 8, 1992. Richard L. Berke, "Congress Backs 27th Amendment," New York Times , May 21, 1992. "Alumni Notes," The Alcalde , September-October 1992. Here's a video interview with Gregory Watson. Sources for our feature on underhanded poetry: "Anecdote Relative to Mr. Dryden," The Gentleman's and London Magazine , August 1763. William Montgomery Clemens, Mark Twain, His Life and
Mon, January 25, 2016
The Voyage of the Damned
In 1939, an ocean liner carrying 900 Jewish refugees left Nazi Germany seeking sanctuary in North America, but it was turned away by every nation it appealed to. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the so-called "voyage of the damned" and the plight of its increasingly desperate passengers. We'll also discuss the employment prospects for hermits in Seattle and puzzle over the contentment of a condemned woman. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the MS St. Louis : Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts, Voyage of the Damned , 1974. Sarah A. Ogilvie and Scott Miller, Refuge Denied: The St. Louis Passengers and the Holocaust , 2006. C. Paul Vincent, "The Voyage of the St. Louis Revisited," Holocaust and Genocide Studies 25:2 (Fall 2011). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, "The Story of the S.S. St. Louis (1939)" (accessed 01/10/2016). Robert Leiter, "Voyage of the Damned: Survivors of the Ill-Fated St. Louis Recall Their Bittersweet Journey," Jewish Exponent , June 17, 1999. United States Coast Guard, "What Was the Coast Guard's Role in the SS St. Louis Affair, Often Referred to as 'The Voyage of the Damned'?" (accessed 01/10/2016). Holocaust Online: Voyage of the St. Louis : Background Information Jessica Shepherd, "Message in Bottle From Voyage of the Damned," Evening Chronicle , Nov. 10, 2003. Listener mail: Levi Pulkkinen, "City of Seattle Looks to Pay $10,000 for Drawbridge Wordsmith," Seattle Post-Intelligencer , Jan. 14, 2016. Cara Giaimo, "Fleeting Wonders: Seattle Is Looking for a Poet to Live in a Bridge," Atlas Obscura, Jan. 18, 2016 Seattle's application forms for the positions: <a href="http://www.seattl
Mon, January 18, 2016
The Candy Bar War
In 1947, the price of a candy bar in British Columbia rose from 5 to 8 cents, and the local teenagers organized a surprisingly effective "strike" that soon spread across the country. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Canada's unlikely "candy bar war," which gripped the nation for 10 days before ending with a surprising twist. We'll also take a grueling automobile ride across 1903 America and puzzle over the intentions of a masked man. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Our feature on Canada's candy bar war of 1947 was suggested by listener Randy Banderob. Sources: Tom Hawthorn, "From a Shop in Ladysmith, Chocolate Strike Affected Sales Across the Country," Globe and Mail , April 23, 2012. "Auld Lang Syne," Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle , May 4, 1977. "Putting Their Three Cents In," Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle , June 12, 2007. "'War' Fought Over Chocolate," Now , April 18, 2007. Dave Obee, "Candy Price Hike Sent Kids Into the Streets," Victoria Times-Colonist , Dec. 7, 2008. Travesty Productions, The Five Cent War . Burnaby History Tour: The Five Cent Chocolate War (accessed Jan. 3, 2016). Lenny Flank, "The 1947 Candy Bar Strike," Hidden History, July 28, 2015. Listener mail: Sources for our story on Horatio Nelson Jackson and his 1903 auto journey across the United States: Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, Horatio's Drive , 2003. Horatio's Drive (DVD), 2003, written by Dayton Duncan, directed by Ken Burns. Here's a photo of Bud the transcontinental bulldog: Sources on Dwight Eisenhower and the C
Mon, January 11, 2016
An African From Baltimore
In the 1920s Bata Kindai Amgoza ibn LoBagola toured the United States and Europe to share the culture of his African homeland with fascinated audiences. The reality was actually much more mundane: His name was Joseph Lee and he was from Baltimore. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the curious story of this self-described "savage" and trace the unraveling of his imaginative career. We'll also dump a bucket of sarcasm on Duluth, Minnesota, and puzzle over why an acclaimed actor loses a role. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Bata LoBagola: Bata Kindai Amgoza ibn LoBagola, LoBagola: An African Savage's Own Story , 1930. David Killingray and Willie Henderson, "Bata Kindai Amgoza ibn LoBagola and the Making of An African Savage's Own Story ," in Bernth Lindfors, Africans on Stage: Studies in Ethnological Show Business , 1999. Alex Pezzati, "The Scholar and the Impostor," Expedition 47:2 (Summer 2005), 6. James Olney, Tell Me Africa: An Approach to African Literature , 2015. Louis Chude-Sokei, The Last "Darky": Bert Williams, Black-on-Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora , 2005. John Strausbaugh, Black Like You: Blackface, Whiteface, Insult & Imitation in American Popular Culture , 2007. Bata Kindai Amgoza Ibn LoBagola papers , New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. Jim Christy, "Scalawags: Bata Kindai Amgoza ibn LoBagola," Nuvo , Summer 2013. Kentucky representative James Proctor Knott's derisive panegyric on Duluth, Minnesota, was delivered in the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 27, 1871. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Ben Snitkoff, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this
Mon, January 04, 2016
Mrs. Wilkinson and the Lyrebird
Almost nothing was known about Australia's elusive lyrebird until 1930, when an elderly widow named Edith Wilkinson encountered one on her garden path one February morning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the curious friendship that evolved between Wilkinson and "James," which led to an explosion of knowledge about his reclusive species. We'll also learn how Seattle literally remade itself in the early 20th century and puzzle over why a prolific actress was never paid for her work. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Edith Wilkinson and James: Ambrose Pratt, The Lore of the Lyrebird , 1933. Nicolae Sfetcu, The Birds' World , 2014. Jackie Kerin, Lyrebird! a True Story , 2012. "A.P.", "A Miracle of the Dandenongs," The Age , Feb. 13, 1932. A response from a reader. Anna Verona Dorris, "The Proud Aristocrat of Birdland," New Outlook , July-August 1956. Here's the full lyrebird video we excerpted on the show: More lyrebirds mimicking human technology on Futility Closet. Listener mail: Chicago links: "The Colorful Front-Gabled Italianate Homes at Damen and 33rd," Chicago Patterns (accessed Jan. 1, 2016). John McCarron, "Pilsen Comes Together to Preserve and Build," LISC Chicago's New Communities Program, May 3, 2007 (accessed Jan. 1, 2016). Down to Earth: 9 Stories Above Pilsen (accessed Jan. 1, 2016). Seattle links: A spite mo
Mon, December 28, 2015
A Sleuthing Cabbie, Edward VI's Homework, and a Self-Aware Crow
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll share seven oddities from Greg's research, from Arthur Conan Doyle's encounter with a perceptive Boston cabbie to a computer's failed attempts to rewrite Aesop's fables. We'll also hear boxer Gene Tunney's thoughts on Shakespeare and puzzle over how a man on a park bench can recognize a murder at sea. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for the items in this week's episode: Joseph Hatton, "Revelations of an Album," in The Idler , April 1897. Charles Dickens mentioned "MOOR EEFFOC" in an abandoned autobiography. Michael Quinion has a bit more at World Wide Words . Albert Pierce Taylor, Under Hawaiian Skies , 1922. "John Cazale," IMDb (accessed 12/23/2015). Ed Zern reviewed Lady Chatterley's Lover for Field & Stream in November 1959. John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials, Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It , 1822. Noel Williams and Patrik Holt, Computers and Writing: Models and Tools , 1989. Listener mail: "Yale Students Hear Tunney," Ottawa Citizen , April 24, 1928. "Lauds Gene Tunney," Lewiston [Maine] Daily Sun , July 11, 1929. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Jed's List of Situation Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/
Mon, December 21, 2015
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some strange situations using only yes-or-no questions. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. This episode's puzzles were contributed by listeners David White and Sean Gilbertson and drawn from the following books: Edward J. Harshman, Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles , 1996. Kyle Hendrickson, Mental Fitness Puzzles , 1998. Paul Sloane and Des MacHale, Intriguing Lateral Thinking Puzzles , 1996. David White sent two links to corroborate the third puzzle -- these contain spoilers, so listen to the episode before clicking. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, December 14, 2015
Raising Chicago
In 1868, visiting Scotsman David Macrae was astonished to see Chicago transforming itself -- dozens of buildings were transplanted to the suburbs, and hotels weighing hundreds of tons were raised on jackscrews. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the city's astounding 20-year effort to rid itself of sewage and disease. We'll also learn how a bear almost started World War III and puzzle over the importance of a ringing phone. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the raising of Chicago: David Young, "Raising the Chicago Streets Out of the Mud," Chicago Tribune , date strangely withheld (retrieved Dec. 7, 2015). Robin Einhorn, "Street Grades, Raising," Encyclopedia of Chicago (accessed Dec. 6, 2015). Josiah Seymour Currey, Chicago: Its History and Its Builders , 1918. Alfred Theodore Andreas, History of Chicago: Ending With the Year 1857 , 1884. David Macrae, The Americans at Home , 1870. There's a very extensive collection of contemporaneous news accounts here . Listener mail: Aaron Tovish, "The Okinawa Missiles of October," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists , Oct. 25, 2015. Wikipedia, "Norwegian Rocket Incident" (retrieved Dec. 12, 2015). Wikipedia, "Volk Field Air National Guard Base" (retrieved Dec. 12, 2015). Chris Hubbuch, "False Alarm: How a Bear Nearly Started a Nuclear War," La Crosse [Wis.] Tribune , Jan. 30, 2009. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is
Mon, December 07, 2015
The Man Who Never Was
In 1942, Germany discovered a dead British officer floating off the coast of Spain, carrying important secret documents about the upcoming invasion of Europe. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Operation Mincemeat, which has been called "the most imaginative and successful ruse" of World War II. We'll also hear from our listeners about Scottish titles and mountain-climbing pussycats and puzzle over one worker's seeming unwillingness to help another. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on Operation Mincemeat: Denis Smyth, Deathly Deception: The Real Story of Operation Mincemeat , 2010. Richard E. Gorini, "Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory," The Army Lawyer , March 2011, 39-42. Klaus Gottlieb, "The Mincemeat Postmortem: Forensic Aspects of World War II's Boldest Counterintelligence Operation," Military Medicine 174:1 (January 2009), 93-9. Gerald Kloss, "'Dead Man' Trick That Fooled Hitler," Milwaukee Journal , Jan. 28, 1954. "The Germans Fooled by False Documents," Montreal Gazette , April 30, 1954. Ewen Montagu, "The Debt the Allies Owe to the Man Who Never Was," Sydney Morning Herald , March 15, 1953. "Mourner for 'Man Who Never Was'" , Glasgow Herald , Dec. 24, 1959. Listener mail: Highland Titles "Can You Really Become a Lord of the Scottish Highlands for Less than $50.00?" , HG.org (retrieved Dec. 3, 2015). Links on mountain-climbing cats: Peter Glaser, "Die Katze, d
Mon, November 30, 2015
Nuclear Close Calls
In 1983, Soviet satellites reported that the United States had launched a nuclear missile toward Moscow, and one officer had only minutes to decide whether to initiate a counterstrike. In today's show we'll learn about some nuclear near misses from the Cold War that came to light only decades after they occurred. We'll also hear listeners' input about crescent moons and newcomers to India, and puzzle over the fatal consequences of a man's departure from his job. Sources for our feature on Stanislav Petrov and Vasili Arkhipov: Pavel Aksenov, "Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who May Have Saved the World," BBC, Sept. 26, 2013. Lynn Berry, "Russian Who 'Saved the World' Recalls His Decision as 50/50," Associated Press, Sept. 17, 2015. "Soviet Officer Honored for Averting Nuclear War," Toledo Blade , May 22, 2004. Mark McDonald, "Cold War, Cool Head," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Dec. 26, 2004. Ben Hoyle, "The Russian Who Saved the World," Southland Times , May 22, 2015, 7. Glen Pedersen, "Stanislav Petrov, World Hero," Fellowship , July/August 2005, 9. "JFK Tried to Drive Wedge Between Cubans, Soviets," Toledo Blade , Oct. 13, 2002. "Papers: Annihilation Narrowly Averted," Lawrence [Kan.] Journal-World , Oct. 12, 2002. "Revealed: Soviet Sub Almost Attacked in '62," Peace Magazine , January-March 2003, 31. Listener mail: The Museum of London's exhibition The Crime Museum Uncovered runs through April 10, 2016. Wordnik defines griffinism as "In India and the East, the state or character of a griffin or new-comer." This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Andrew H., who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoi
Mon, November 23, 2015
Stealing Abe Lincoln
In 1876, a gang of inept Chicago counterfeiters launched an absurd plot to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. In today's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow their comical attempts to carry out the bizarre scheme, and uncover the secret society that was formed afterward to protect Lincoln's corpse. We'll also puzzle over an overlooked way to reduce the odds of dying of a heart attack. Sources for our feature on Lincoln's bodysnatchers: Thomas J. Craughwell, Stealing Lincoln's Body , 2007. Bonnie Stahlman Speer, The Great Abraham Lincoln Hijack , 1997. John Carroll Power, History of an Attempt to Steal the Body of Abraham Lincoln , 1890. Thomas J. Craughwell, "A Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body," U.S. News , June 24, 2007. David B. Williams, "The Odd Reburials of Abraham Lincoln," Seattle Times , April 13, 2007. Ray Bendici, "Thomas J. Craughwell Discusses the Odd Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body," Connecticut Magazine , Nov. 12, 2013. Don Babwin, "Presidential Heist," Associated Press, May 13, 2007. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is adapted from a puzzle in Edward J. Harshman's 1996 book Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at <a
Sun, November 15, 2015
The Typhus Hoax
In 1939, as Germany was sending the people of Poland to labor and death camps, two doctors found a unique way to save their countrymen -- by faking an epidemic. In this week’s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about their clever plan, which ultimately saved 8,000 people. We'll also consider four schemes involving tiny plots of land and puzzle over why a library would waive its fees for a lost book. Sources for our feature on Eugene Lazowski: Damon Adams, "2 Doctors Used Typhus to Save Thousands in Wartime," American Medical News , July 5, 2004. Yoav Goor, "When the Test Tube Was Mightier Than the Gun: A Polish Doctor Out-Frightens the Nazis," Israel Medical Association Journal , 15:4 (April 2013), 198. Bernard Dixon, "Mimicry and More," British Medical Journal , Nov. 24, 1990. Mohammad Mooty and Larry I Lutwick, "Epidemic Typhus Fever," in Larry I. Lutwick and Suzanne M. Lutwick, Beyond Anthrax: The Weaponization of Infectious Diseases , 2009. Trevor Jensen, "Dr. Eugene Lazowski: 1913-2006," Chicago Tribune , Dec. 22, 2006. Listener mail: Cards Against Humanity, "Eight Sensible Gifts for Hanukkah." J. Craig Anderson, "Cards Against Humanity Buys Remote Maine Island, Calls It 'Hawaii 2'," Portland Press Herald , December 24, 2014. Sarah Hulett, "Inchvesting In Detroit: A Virtual Realty," NPR, March 4, 2010. Wikipedia, The Good Earth (Manfred Mann's Earth Band album) . Weekend Telegraph , "Sitting on a Slice of the Good Earth," Sept. 23, 1995. Patrick Barkham, "What Greenpeace Could Learn From Manfred Mann About Saving the Environment," Guardian , July 5, 2015. Paul Evans, "Diversionary Tactics -- The Imaginative Campaigns Protecting the Countryside From Developers," Guardian , March 31, 2009. Wikipedia, "Alice's Meadow." This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Lawrence Mil
Mon, November 02, 2015
'Black Like Me': Race Realities Under Jim Crow
In 1959, Texas journalist John Howard Griffin darkened his skin and lived for six weeks as a black man in the segregated South. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his harrowing experience and what it taught him about the true state of race relations in America. We'll also ponder crescent moons, German submarines, and griffins in India and puzzle over why a man would be arrested for winning a prize at a county fair. Sources for our feature on John Howard Griffin: John Howard Griffin, Black Like Me , 1961. Robert Bonazzi, Man in the Mirror: John Howard Griffin and the Story of Black Like Me , 2010. Maurice Dolbier, "Blinding Disguise in South," Miami News , Oct. 15, 1961. Jerome Weeks, "'Black Like Me' Just One of Many Roles for John Howard Griffin," Dallas Morning News , Sept. 19, 1997. H.W. Quick, "He Finds Bias Blighting North, South," Milwaukee Sentinel , Jan. 16, 1964. Karen De Witt, "Oppressor Shown What Being Oppressed Is Like," Ottawa Citizen , Nov. 1, 1977. Ray Sprigle, In the Land of Jim Crow , 1949. Lucile Torkelson, "Writer Crosses the Race Barrier," Milwaukee Sentinel , Oct. 29, 1969. Research questions: Here's the image of the star and crescent: And here are the sources I've found that describe the German submarine rescue: Wolfgang Frank, The Sea Wolves , 1955. Arch Whitehouse, Subs and Submariners , 1961. Jacques Yves Cousteau, Captain Cousteau's Underwater Treasury , 1959. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Lawrence Miller. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/fut
Sun, October 25, 2015
One Square Inch of the Yukon
If you opened a box of Quaker Oats in 1955, you'd find a deed to one square inch of land in northwestern Canada. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story behind the Klondike Big Inch land giveaway, whose bizarre consequences are still being felt today. We'll also hear about a time traveler who visited the British Museum in 1997 and puzzle over why a prizewinning farmer gives away his best seed to his competitors. Sources for our feature on the Klondike Big Inch land promotion: Jack McIver, "The Great Klondike Big Inch Land Caper," Ottawa Citizen , March 27, 1975. "The Great Klondike Rush of '55," Ottawa Citizen , Dec. 8, 1955. "Sgt. Preston Inspired Great Yukon Land Deals," Reading (Pa.) Eagle , Jan. 1, 1987. Dave White, "Quaker Oats Klondike Deed Scam Still Sizzling," Yukon News , Jan. 26, 1990. "Cereal Giveaway Now a Pain," Montreal Gazette , May 12, 1971. "The Klondike Big Inch," yukoninfo, accessed 10/23/2015. John Robert Colombo, Canadian Literary Landmarks , 1984. Big Inch deeds can sometimes be found on eBay -- here are two that sold in March . Sources for our feature on Enoch Soames, time travel, and literary memory: Max Beerbohm, "Enoch Soames: A Memory of the Eighteen-Nineties," 1916. Teller, "A Memory of the Nineteen-Nineties," Atlantic , November 1997. Chris Jones, "The Honor System," Esquire , October 2012. The Flickr photo of Soames is here , and there's a bit more background
Mon, October 19, 2015
Snowshoe Thompson
In the 1850s, settlers in western Nevada were cut off from the rest of the world each winter by deep snow. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about their lifeline, Norwegian immigrant John Thompson, who for 20 years carried mail, medicine, and supplies through 90 miles of treacherous snowdrifts on a pair of homemade skis. We'll also hear listener contributions regarding prison camp escape aids in World War II and puzzle over how lighting a cigarette results in a lengthy prison sentence. Sources for our feature on Snowshoe Thompson: Alton Pryor, Classic Tales in California History , 1999. Erling Ylvisaker, Eminent Pioneers , 1934. Kay Grant, "'Snowshoe' Thompson: The Norwegian Who Mastered the Rugged Sierra Nevada to Deliver the U.S. Mail," Wild West 18:4 (December 2005): 10, 68-69. "'Snowshoe' Thompson Finally Gets His Due," Deseret News , May 15, 1976. Alan Drummer, "Miracle on Skis," Milwaukee Journal , March 1, 1985. Larry Walsh, "'Snowshoe' Thompson Knew How to Carry the Mail," Pittsburgh Press , Feb. 26, 1992. "Snowshoe Thompson," Carroll Herald , Dec. 22, 1886. Red Smith, "Snowshoe Thompson Would Have Chuckled," Ottawa Citizen , Feb. 18, 1960. Listener mail: Wikipedia, Snakes and Ladders . "Clutty and His Escape Devices," in Ian Dear, Escape and Evasion , 2004. H. Keith Melton, Ultimate Spy , 1996. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at <a href="
Mon, October 12, 2015
The Sourdough Expedition
In 1910, four Alaskan gold miners set out to climb Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, to win a two-cent bar bet. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the surprising story of the Sourdough Expedition, a mountaineering effort that one modern climber calls "superhuman by today's standards." We'll also hear about a ghoulish tourist destination and puzzle over why a painter would blame himself for World War II. Sources for our feature on the Sourdough expedition: Bill Sherwonit, "The Sourdough Expedition," Alaska 68:4 (May/June 2002), 28. Jason Strykowski, "Impossible Heights: The Alaskan Miners Who Conquered Mount McKinley," Wild West 24:4 (December 2011), 20. Terrence Cole, ed., The Sourdough Expedition , 1985. W.F. Thompson, "First Account of Conquering Mt. McKinley," New York Times , June 5, 1910. Listener mail: The Telegraph has a photo of the mummies in the Capuchin catacombs in Palermo, Sicily. Wikipedia has a photo of Rosalia Lombardo , the immaculately preserved 2-year-old embalmed in 1920, and another appears here: Karen Lange, "Lost 'Sleeping Beauty' Mummy Formula Found," National Geographic News , Jan. 26, 2009 (accessed 10/10/2015). This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2005 book Outstanding Lateral Thinking Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at <a href="m
Mon, October 05, 2015
Get Out of Jail Free
During World War II, the British Secret Service found a surprising way to help Allies in Nazi prisoner-of-war camps: They used doctored Monopoly sets to smuggle in maps, files, compasses, and real money. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story behind this clever ploy, which may have helped thousands of prisoners escape from Nazi camps. We'll also hear listeners' thoughts on Jeremy Bentham's head, Victorian tattoos, and phone-book-destroying German pirates and puzzle over murderous cabbies and moviegoers. Sources for our feature on MI9's use of Monopoly sets to help Allied prisoners escape during World War II: Philip E. Orbanes, Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game -- And How It Got That Way , 2006. Ki Mae Heussner, "Get Out of Jail Free: Monopoly's Hidden Maps," ABC News, Sept. 18, 2009 (retrieved Sept. 27, 2015). Listener mail: Myths and legends surrounding Jeremy Bentham's auto-icon , from University College London. This week's lateral thinking puzzles are from Matthew Johnstone's 1999 book What's the Story? You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 28, 2015
The Sea Devil
Felix von Luckner was a romantic hero of World War I, a dashing nobleman who commanded one of the last sailing ships to fight in war. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Luckner's uniquely civilized approach to warfare, which won admiration even from his enemies. We'll also puzzle over how a product intended to prevent drug abuse ends up encouraging it. Sources for our feature on Felix von Luckner: Lowell Thomas, Count Luckner, The Sea Devil , 1928. Edwin P. Hoyt, Count von Luckner: Knight of the Sea , 1969. In all, Seeadler captured 16 ships totaling 30,099 tons between Dec. 21, 1916, and Sept. 8, 1917. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 21, 2015
Charley Parkhurst's Secret
"One-Eyed Charley" Parkhurst drove a stagecoach throughout California during the height of the Gold Rush, rising to the top of a difficult, dangerous, and highly competitive profession at its historic peak. Only after his death in 1879 at age 67 was it discovered that Charley was a woman. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell what's known of Charley Parkhurst's courageous and enigmatic life story. We'll also hear listeners' input on the legalities of an anti-Christian town and puzzle over a lucky driver and his passenger. Sources for our feature on Charley Parkhurst: Dan L. Thrapp, ed., Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography , 1991. Gloria G. Harris and Hannah S. Cohen, Women Trailblazers of California: Pioneers to the Present , 2012. Alton Pryor, Fascinating Women in California History , 2003. "Thirty Years in Disguise," New York Times , Jan. 9, 1880. Mark McLaughlin, "Sierra History: The Strange Tale of Stagecoach Driver Charley Parkhurst," Tahoe Daily Tribune , July 11, 2015. "The Secret of One-Eyed Charley," Palm Beach Post , June 29, 1958. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Jillian Caldwell, who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Than
Mon, September 14, 2015
The Tichborne Claimant
In 1854, English aristocrat Roger Tichborne disappeared at sea. Twelve years later, a butcher from Wagga Wagga, Australia, claimed he was the long-lost heir. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the sensational story of the Tichborne claimant, which Mark Twain called "the most intricate and fascinating and marvelous real-life romance that has ever been played upon the world's stage." We'll also puzzle over why family businesses are often more successful in Japan than in other countries. Sources for our feature on the Tichborne claimant: Rohan McWilliam, The Tichborne Claimant: A Victorian Sensation , 2007. Robyn Annear, The Man Who Lost Himself: The Unbelievable Story of the Tichborne Claimant , 2011. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles . There's a fuller explanation (with spoilers!) in Dan Lewis' Now I Know newsletter . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 07, 2015
The Strange Misadventures of Famous Corpses
What do René Descartes, Joseph Haydn, and Oliver Cromwell have in common? All three lost their heads after death. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll run down a list of notable corpses whose parts have gone wandering. We'll also hear readers chime in on John Lennon, knitting, diaries and Hitchcock, and puzzle over why a pilot would choose to land in a field of grazing livestock. Sources for our feature on posthumously itinerant body parts: Bess Lovejoy, Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses , 2013. Edith Sitwell, English Eccentrics , 1993. I'd written previously about Descartes , Haydn , Cromwell , Bentham , Einstein , and Juan Perón . Thanks to listener Alejandro Pareja for the tip about Goya. Listener mail: Barney Snow's documentary about Gerald and Linda Polley is Where Has Eternity Gone? QI, "Knitting in Code." Douglas Martin, "Robert Shields, Wordy Diarist, Dies at 89," New York Times , Oct. 29, 2007. Listener Christine Fisher found Charles Thomas Samuels' interview with Alfred Hitchcock in Sidney Gottlieb's 2003 book Alfred Hitchcock: Interviews . It appeared originally in Samuels' 1972 book Encountering Directors . This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Kyle Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Enter coupon code CLOSET at Harry's and get $5 off their starter set of high-quality razors. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set
Mon, August 31, 2015
Godless in Missouri
In 1880, freethinking attorney George Walser tried a new experiment in the American heartland -- a community dedicated against Christianity, "the only town of its size in the world without a priest, preacher, saloon, God or hell." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the story of Liberal, Missouri -- its founding, its confrontations with its Christian neighbors, and its ironic downfall. We'll also puzzle over how a woman can suddenly be 120 miles away in just a few minutes. Sources for our feature on Liberal, Mo.: J.P. Moore, This Strange Town -- Liberal, Missouri: A History of the Early Years, 1880 to 1910 , 1963. Lawrence O. Christensen, William E. Foley, and Gary Kremer, Dictionary of Missouri Biography , 1999. Tom Flynn, ed., The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief , 2007. Steve Everly, "History of Southwest Missouri Town Shows Triumph of Faith Over Skepticism," Nevada Daily Mail , Dec. 26, 2001. Marvin Vangilder, "Missouri Town Might Assure Stockton as Atheist Target," Associated Press, Sept. 4, 1963. "Necrology," Missouri Historical Review , July 1910. "Missouri Geography: Community Experiments," in Walter Barlow Stevens, Missouri the Center State: 1821-1915, Volume 2 , 1915. George Henry Walser, The Life and Teachings of Jesus , 1909. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can c
Mon, August 24, 2015
Sunk by a Whale
In 1820, the Nantucket whaleship Essex was attacked and sunk by an 85-foot sperm whale in the South Pacific, a thousand miles from land. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the attack, which left 20 men to undertake an impossible journey to South America in three small whaleboats. We'll also learn about an Australian athlete who shipped himself across the world in a box in 1964 and puzzle over an international traveler's impressive feat of navigation. Sources for our feature on the whaleship Essex : Owen Chase, Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex , 1821. Thomas Farel Heffernan, Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase and the Essex , 1981. Thomas Nickerson et al., The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale , 2000. Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea , 2000. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick , 1851. Adam Summers, "Fat Heads Sink Ships," Natural History 111:7 (September 2002): 40-41. David R. Carrier, Stephen M. Deban, and Jason Otterstrom, "The Face That Sank the Essex: Potential Function of the Spermaceti Organ in Aggression," Journal of Experimental Biology 205:12 (June 15, 2002), 1755-1763. Henry F. Pommer, "Herman Melville and the Wake of The Essex," American Literature 20:3 (November 1948): 290-304. Fourteen-year-old cabin boy Thomas Nickerson was at the helm at the time of the attack; he made this sketch later in life. "I heard a loud cry from several voices at once, that the whale was coming foul of the ship. Scarcely had the sound of their voices reached my ears when it was followed by a tremendous crash. The whale had struck the ship with his head directly under the larboard fore chains at the waters edge with such force as to shock every man upon his feet." Thanks to listener David Balmain (and David McRaney's "You Are Not So Smart" podcast) for the tip about penurious javelinist Reg Spiers' 1964 postal odyssey to Australia. Further sources for that segment: Jason Caffrey, "The Man Who Posted Himself to Australia," BBC World Service, March 6, 2015. Reg Spiers, "I Posted Myself in a Box From England to Australia," Financial Times , June 19, 2015. "Going East in a Coffin," Chicago Herald , Oct. 25, 1887. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Jason Wood, who sent this cor
Mon, August 10, 2015
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are four new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits! Solve along with us as we explore some strange situations using only yes-or-no questions. Puzzles 1 and 2 are from Kyle Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles and Jed's List of Situation Puzzles . Thanks to listeners Saber and Tommy Honton for puzzles 3 and 4. Here are two corroborating links -- these spoil the puzzles, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #3 Puzzle #4 You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Use this link to get video and audio lectures at up to 80 percent off the original price from The Great Courses. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Sun, August 02, 2015
The Niihau Incident
After taking part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese fighter pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crash-landed on the isolated Hawaiian island of Niihau. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll recount the six days of escalating drama that unfolded between the desperate pilot and the terrified islanders. We'll also hear a list of open questions from Greg's research and puzzle over why a man can't sell a solid gold letter opener. Sources for our feature on the Niihau incident: William Hallstead and Raymond Denkhaus, "The Niihau Incident," World War II 14:5 (January 2000), 38. Andrew Carroll, "A Japanese Pilot Brings World War II to Hawaii's Farthest Shore," American History 48:5 (December 2013): 29-30. Richard B. Frank, "Zero Hour on Niihau," World War II 24:2 (July 2009): 54-61. "U.S. Won First WWII Victory Just Days After Pearl Harbor," Associated Press, Dec. 27, 1991. One particularly gruesome account of the whipping of Emmanuel Dannan appeared in The Living Age in 1855: Accordingly, the man procured six whips -- the toughest kind of swamp willow -- which, by his own confession, were four feet in length, and as large at the butt as one's little finger and about 9 o'clock at night took Emanuel -- who still persisted in telling the truth -- to the loft of the cabin, and having stripped him to his shirt, wound that around his neck, and tied him up, by a cord, by both wrists, to a rafter, so that his feet but barely touched the ground. Here he whipped him for two hours, only resting at intervals to procure a fresh whip, or to demand of his victim that he should own that he told a lie. The boy's only answer was, 'Pa, I told the truth. Pa, I did not lie.' The girl [his sister, the only witness] said that Emanuel did not cry much ; and it is probable that he fainted during a portion of the time, as the injuries upon his body, testified that there was not a spot, from the armpits to the ankles, large enough to place your finger upon, but was covered with livid welts; and that in very many places the skin was broken! In this account, which is explicitly directed "to the Sabbath school children of the United States," the foster father tries to "whip the lie out of" Emmanuel -- that is, persuade him to agree that he had imagined his mother's crime. In other tellings the lie is whipped into him -- he's urged to tell a cover story to protect his mother, and he cries, "Pa, I will not lie!" Sources for this week's later
Mon, July 27, 2015
Composing Beyond the Grave
In 1933, violinist Jelly d'Aranyi declared that the spirit of Robert Schumann was urging her to find a concerto that he'd written shortly before his death in 1856. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the discovery of Schumann's lost violin concerto, as well as a similar case in which a London widow claimed to receive new compositions from 12 dead composers We'll also puzzle over how a man earns $250,000 for going on two cruises. Sources for our feature on Jelly d'Aranyi and Rosemary Brown: Joseph Macleod, The Sisters d'Aranyi , 1969. Erik Palmstierna and Adila Fachiri, Horizons of Immortality , 1938. Rosemary Brown, Unfinished Symphonies , 1971. Douglas Martin, "Rosemary Brown, a Friend of Dead Composers, Dies at 85," New York Times , Dec. 2, 2001. Michael Steinberg, The Concerto: A Listener's Guide , 1998. Nicolas Slonimsky, Slonimsky's Book of Musical Anecdotes , 1948. Here's the Schumann violin concerto played by Frank Peter Zimmermann , and here's a rather blurry interview with Rosemary Brown , in which she transcribes a composition for Beethoven. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Jed's List of Situation Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter . Thanks for listening!
Mon, July 20, 2015
Eighteen Holes in Vietnam
In 1972, Air Force navigator Gene Hambleton was shot down over enemy territory in Vietnam, and a ferocious offensive beat back every attempt to rescue him. In today's show we'll learn how his lifelong passion for golf became the key to his escape. We'll also learn about a videogame based on the Dyatlov Pass incident and puzzle over why a military force drops bombs on its friends. Sources for our feature on Gene Hambleton: William C. Anderson, BAT-21 , 1980. Darrell D. Whitcomb, The Rescue of BAT 21 , 1998. George Esper, "Commando Team Snatches Downed Airmen From Midst of Enemy's Invasion Force," Associated Press, April 25, 1972. Dennis McLellan, "'Gene' Hambleton, 85; His Rescue Depicted in 'Bat-21' Books, Film," Los Angeles Times , Sept. 27, 2004. Listener mail: The full text of Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Problem of Thor Bridge" is on Wikisource . The videogame about the Dyatlov Pass incident is called Kholat . (It's named after Kholat Syakhyl, the mountain on which the Dyatlov hikers pitched their tent.) This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Mike Martin. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . You can also follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/th
Mon, July 13, 2015
The Merchant Prince of Cornville
Edmond Rostand's hit play Cyrano de Bergerac met an unexpected obstacle in 1898 -- a Chicago real estate developer who claimed that it plagiarized his own play. In this week's podcast we'll review the strange controversy and the surprising outcome of the lawsuit that followed. We'll also hear an update on the German author who popularized an American West that he had never seen and puzzle over a Civil War private who refuses to fight. Sources for our feature on Cyrano de Bergerac and The Merchant Prince of Cornville : "Gross-Rostand Controversy," in George Childs Kohn, New Encyclopedia of American Scandal , 2001. Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac , 1897. Samuel Eberly Gross, The Merchant Prince of Cornville , 1896. Jay Pridmore, "Recalling 'Merchant Prince' of the 1880s," Chicago Tribune , Feb. 28, 1992. "Chronicle and Comment," The Bookman , November 1910. The Critic , February 1899, p. 116. "Samuel Gross's Cyrano," New York Times , June 1, 1902. "Rostand Indignant," The Pittsburgh Press , June 1, 1902. "Rostand's Champion," The Carroll Herald , June 4, 1902. "'Cyrano de Bergerac' a Plagiarism," Boston Evening Transcript , May 21, 1902. "The Law and the Nose," Pittsburgh Press , Sept. 10, 1902. "Dollar Is Spent," The Milwaukee Journal , Sept. 17, 1902. Listener mail: Wikipedia, Hadschi Halef Omar (retrieved July 8, 2015). Dschinghis Khan's disco song "Hadschi Halef Omar" i
Mon, July 06, 2015
Murder at the Priory
In 1876 London was riveted by the dramatic poisoning of a young barrister and the sordid revelations that emerged about his household. In today's show we'll review the baffling case of Charles Bravo's murder, which Agatha Christie called "one of the most mysterious poisoning cases ever recorded." We'll also get an update on career possibilities for garden hermits and puzzle over how the police know that a shooting death is not a homicide. Many thanks to Ronald Hackston for his evocative photo of The Priory, Balham, the site of Charles Bravo's unsolved 1876 poisoning. Sources for that feature: James Ruddick, Death at the Priory: Sex, Love, and Murder in Victorian England , 2001. Chirag Trivedi, "Victorian Whodunnit Solved," BBC, Jan. 13, 2003 (accessed June 28, 2015). "The Bravo Inquiry" and "The Theory of Suicide in the Bravo Case," Medical Times and Gazette , Aug. 19, 1876. Joyce Emmerson Muddock, Pages From an Adventurous Life , 1907. Listener mail: Amanda Williams, "Wanted: 'Outgoing' Hermit," Daily Mail , May 5, 2014 (retrieved July 3, 2015). Greater Manchester News , "Hermit Wanted for Historic Gardens," July 3, 2009 (retrieved July 3, 2015). "Hermit Wanted for 'Ivory Tower'," BBC, July 1, 2009 (retrieved July 3, 2015). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Sam B., who sent this corroborating link (warning: this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Enter coupon code CLO
Sun, June 28, 2015
The Rainmaker
In 1915 San Diego hired "rainmaker" Charles Hatfield to relieve a four-year drought. After he set to work with his 23 secret chemicals, the skies opened and torrential rains caused some of the most extreme flooding in the city's history. In this week's podcast we'll discuss the effects of "Hatfield's flood" and ponder how to assign the credit or blame. We'll also puzzle over why a flagrant housebreaker doesn't get prosecuted. Sources for our feature on "moisture accelerator" Charles Hatfield: Garry Jenkins, The Wizard of Sun City , 2005. Cynthia Barnett, Rain: A Natural and Cultural History , 2015. "Hatfield Made the Sky Fall (and Fall)," Kingman [Ariz.] Daily Miner , Nov. 14, 1978. "Hatfield Again Gambling Upon Making of Rain," Berkeley [Calif.] Daily Gazette , Jan. 29, 1926. "Rainmaker Wins Bet With Farmers," Ellensburg [Wash.] Daily Record , July 28, 1921. "With the Rainmaker," Dawson [Yukon] Daily News , July 4, 1905. "Rainstorms at $50 Each," St. John [New Brunswick] Daily Sun , March 8, 1904. This week's first lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Hanno Zulla, who sent these corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle). The second puzzle is from Edward J. Harshman's 1996 book Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider be
Sun, June 21, 2015
Marconi Catches a Murderer
The discovery of the gruesome remains of a human body buried in a doctor's cellar shocked London in 1910. In this week's podcast we'll recount the dramatic use of the recently invented wireless telegraph in capturing the main suspect in the crime. We'll also hear a letter that Winston Churchill wrote to Winston Churchill and puzzle over why a sober man is denied a second beer. Sources for our feature on the telegraphic nabbing of Edwardian uxoricide Hawley Harvey Crippen: Erik Larson, Thunderstruck , 2006. Associated Press, "Wireless Flashes Crippen and Girl Aboard Montrose," Los Angeles Herald , July 29, 1910. "Captain Sure Suspects are Pair Police Seek," Los Angeles Herald , July 29, 1910. Proceedings of Crippen's 1910 trial at Old Bailey Online. "Crippen Mystery Remains Despite DNA Claim," BBC News, Oct. 18, 2007 (accessed June 16, 2015). Mark Townsend, "Appeal Judges Asked to Clear Notorious Murderer Dr. Crippen," Guardian , June 6, 2009 (accessed June 16, 2015). Here's Winston Churchill's June 1899 letter to American author Winston Churchill: Mr. Winston Churchill presents his compliments to Mr. Winston Churchill, and begs to draw his attention to a matter which concerns them both. He has learnt from the Press notices that Mr. Winston Churchill proposes to bring out another novel, entitled Richard Carvel , which is certain to have a considerable sale both in England and America. Mr. Winston Churchill is also the author of a novel now being published in serial form in Macmillan’s Magazine , and for which he anticipates some sale both in England and America. He also proposes to publish on the 1st of October another military chronicle on the Soudan War. He has no doubt that Mr. Winston Churchill will recognise from this letter — if indeed by no other means — that there is grave danger of his works being mistaken for those of Mr. Winston Churchill. He feels sure that Mr. Winston Churchill desires this as little as he does himself. In future to avoid mistakes as far as possible, Mr. Winston Churchill has decided to sign all published articles, stories, or other works, ‘Winston Spencer Churchill,’ and not ‘Winston Churchill’ as formerly. He trusts that this arrangement will commend itself to Mr. Winston Churchill, and he ventures to suggest, with a
Sun, June 14, 2015
The Strange Custom of Garden Hermits
In 18th-century England, wealthy landowners would sometimes hire people to live as hermits in secluded corners of their estates. In today's show we'll explore this odd custom and review the job requirements for life as a poetic recluse. We'll also meet a German novelist who popularized an American West he had never seen and puzzle over some very generous bank robbers. Sources for our feature on ornamental hermits: Gordon Campbell, The Hermit in the Garden , 2013. Alice Gregory, "Garden Hermit Needed. Apply Within," Boston Globe , May 19, 2013. Robert Conger Pell, Milledulcia: A Thousand Pleasant Things , 1857. Edith Sitwell, The English Eccentrics , 1933. John Timbs, English Eccentrics and Eccentricities , 1875. Allison Meier, "Before the Garden Gnome, The Ornamental Hermit: A Real Person Paid to Dress Like a Druid," Atlas Obscura, March 18, 2014 (accessed June 9, 2015). Graeme Wood's article "The Lost Man," describing the latest efforts to identify the Somerton Man, appeared in the California Sunday Magazine on June 7, 2015. The case concerns an unidentified corpse discovered on a South Australian beach in December 1948; for the full story see our Episode 25 . University of Adelaide physicist Derek Abbott's Indiegogo campaign to identify the man runs through June 28. There's also a petition to urge the attorney general of South Australia to exhume the body so that autosomal DNA can be extracted. Sources for Sharon's discussion of German author Karl May's fictional Apache chief Winnetou: Michael Kimmelman, "Fetishizing Native Americans: In Germany, Wild for Winnetou," Spiegel Online , Sept. 13, 2007 (accessed June 11, 2015).
Mon, June 01, 2015
The Day They Hanged an Elephant
In 1916 an American circus elephant named Mary was hanged before a crowd of 3,000 onlookers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the sad series of events that led Mary to a Tennessee railroad crane. We'll also get an update on a very inventive bank robbery and puzzle over the escalators in London's Tube stations. Our feature on Mary was based chiefly on Charles Edwin Price's 1992 book The Day They Hung the Elephant . Our first lateral thinking puzzle this week was contributed by listener Paul Sophocleous. The second is from Kyle Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles . Here are two links with more information about the bank robbery described in Episode 58's puzzle. (Warning -- spoilers!) Enter coupon code CLOSET at Harry's to get $5 off a special Father's Day razor set. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter . Thanks for listening!
Sun, May 24, 2015
The Wizard of Mauritius
In 1764 a French engineer on a tiny African island claimed that he could see ships beyond the horizon. In today's show we'll review the strange story of Étienne Bottineau and consider the evidence for his claims to have invented a new art. We'll also ponder a 400-year-old levitation trick and puzzle over why throwing a beer can at someone might merit a promotion. Sources for our feature on nauscopie , the purported art of apprehending ships below the horizon: Rupert T. Gould, Oddities: A Book of Unexplained Facts , 1928. Sir David Brewster, Letters on Natural Magic , 1832. J. Gregory Dill, "The Lost Art of Nauscopie," Ocean Navigator , January/February 2003 (retrieved May 17, 2015). Mike Dash, "Naval Gazing: The Enigma of Étienne Bottineau," Smithsonian Magazine , Oct. 13, 2011 (retrieved May 17, 2015). Chicago Tribune , "The Science of Nauscopie," Nov. 7, 1869. Greg's post on Samuel Pepy's "lifting experiment" appeared on Futility Closet on March 22, 2008 . Further sources for that segment: Sir David Brewster, Letters on Natural Magic , 1832. The Diary of Samuel Pepys , July 31, 1665. Robert Conger Pell, Milledulcia: A Thousand Pleasant Things Selected from "Notes and Queries," 1857. Notes & Queries , July 3, 1852 (the original query). Notes & Queries , July 24, 1852 (Brewster offers his impressions). "Non-Wist," "Phenomenon of Levity in the Human Subject," The Zoist , January 1852. Two YouTube videos illustrate the modern technique: one , two The YouTube discussion mentioned in this week's lateral thinking puzzle is here (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You
Mon, May 18, 2015
English as She Is Spoke
In 1855 Pedro Carolino decided to write a Portuguese-English phrasebook despite the fact that he didn't actually speak English. The result is one of the all-time masterpieces of unintentional comedy, a language guide full of phrases like "The ears are too length" and "He has spit in my coat." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll sample Carolino's phrasebook, which Mark Twain called "supreme and unapproachable." We'll also hear Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” rendered in jargon and puzzle over why a man places an ad before robbing a bank. Sources for our feature on Pedro Carolino's disastrous phrasebook: English as She Is Spoke: Or, A Jest in Sober Earnest , 1883. (This edition, like many, incorrectly names José da Fonseca as a coauthor. Fonseca was the author of the Portuguese-French phrasebook that Carolino used for the first half of his task. By all accounts that book is perfectly competent, and Fonseca knew nothing of Carolino's project; Carolino added Fonseca's name to the byline to lend some credibility to his own book.) The Writings of Mark Twain, Volume 6 . Carolino's misadventure inspired some "sequels" by other authors: English as She Is Wrote (1883) English as She Is Taught (1887) As long as we're at it, here's Monty Python's "Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook" sketch: Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy rendered in jargon, from Arthur Quiller-Couch's On the Art of Writing (1916): To be, or the contrary? Whether the former or the latter be preferable would seem to admit of some difference of opinion; the answer in the present case being of an affirmative or of a negative character according as to whether one elects on the one hand to mentally suffer the disfavour of fortune, albeit in an extreme degree, or on the other to boldly envisage adverse conditions in the prospect of eventually bringing them to a conclusion. The condition of sleep is similar to, if not indistinguishable from, that of death; and with the addition of finality the former might be considered identical with the latter: so that in this connection it might be argued with regard to sleep that, could the addition be effected,
Mon, May 11, 2015
Jules Verne's Lost Novel
Eight decades after Jules Verne's death, his great-grandson opened a family safe and discovered an unpublished manuscript. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review some of Verne's remarkable predictions for the 20th century and consider why he never published the novel. We'll also discuss listeners' ideas about the mysterious deaths of nine Soviet ski hikers in 1959 and puzzle over how a man's breakfast turns deadly. Sources for our feature on Jules Verne's Paris in the Twentieth Century : Arthur B. Evans, "The 'New' Jules Verne," Science-Fiction Studies , March 1995. Brian Taves, "Jules Verne’s Paris in the Twentieth Century ," Science-Fiction Studies , March 1997. Jules Verne, Paris in the Twentieth Century , 1863. Sources for listener mail: "'Partially Digested' Human Head, Leg Found Inside Shark Caught by Filipino Fishermen," Fox News Latino , Nov. 12, 2014 (accessed May 8, 2015). Donnie Eichar, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident , 2013. Jason Zasky, "Return to Dead Mountain," Failure Magazine , Feb. 1, 2014. Greg's article on animal infrasound appeared in the January-February 2004 issue of American Scientist . This week's lateral thinking puzzle comes from Jed's List of Situation Puzzles , suggested to us by listener David Morgan. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at <a href="mai
Mon, May 04, 2015
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits! Solve along with us as we explore some strange scenarios using only yes-or-no questions. Many were submitted by listeners, and most are based on real events. A few associated links -- these spoil the puzzles, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 Puzzle #3 Puzzle #4 You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Futility Closet listeners can get $5 off their first purchase at Harry's -- enter coupon code CLOSET at checkout. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . And you can finally follow us on Facebook and Twitter . Thanks for listening!
Sun, April 26, 2015
The Dyatlov Pass Incident
On February 1, 1959, something terrifying overtook nine student ski-hikers in the northern Ural Mountains. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll recount what is known about the incident at Dyatlov Pass and try to make sense of the hikers' harrowing final night. We'll also hear how Dwight Eisenhower might have delivered the Gettysburg Address and puzzle over why signing her name might entitle a woman to a lavish new home. Sources for our feature on the Dyatlov Pass incident: Donnie Eichar, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident , 2013. "Yuri Yudin," Daily Telegraph , April 30, 2013, 25. Here's the investigators' description of the hikers' tent as it was discovered: "Tent site is located on the Northeastern slope of mountain 1079 (Kholat Syakhl official term) meters at the mouth of river Auspiya. Tent site is located 300 meters from the top of the mountain 1079 with a slope of 30°. Test site consists of a pad, levelled by snow, the bottom of which are contains 8 pairs of skis (for tent support and insulation). Tent is stretched on poles and fixed with ropes. On the bottom of the tent 9 backpacks were discovered with various personal items, jackets, rain coats, 9 pairs of shoes. There were also found men's pants, and three pairs of boots, warm fur coats, socks, hat, ski caps, utensils, buckets, stove, ax, saw, blankets, food: biscuits in two bags, condensed milk, sugar, concentrates, notebooks, itinerary and many other small items and documents, camera and accessories to a camera. The nature and form of all (...) lesions suggest that they were formed by contact with the canvas inside of the tent with the blade of some weapon (presumably a knife)." This is the final exposure in hiker Yuri Krivonishchenko's camera. Possibly the image was exposed on the final night, or possibly weeks afterward, inadvertently, by technicians. Lead investigator Lev Ivanov wrote that the hikers' cameras gave him "abundant information based on negative density, film speed ... and aperture and exposure settings," but that they did not "answer the main question -- what was the reason of escape from the tent." Here's journalist Oliver Jensen's rendering of the Gettysburg Address in "Eisenhowese." Jensen provided his original to Dwight Macdonald for his 1961 collection Parodies: An Anthology . "The version below
Mon, April 20, 2015
Escape From Stalag Luft III
In 1943 three men came up with an ingenious plan to escape from the seemingly escape-proof Stalag Luft III prison camp in Germany. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about their clever deception, which made them briefly famous around the world. We'll also hear about the chaotic annual tradition of Moving Day in several North American cities and puzzle over how a severely injured hiker beats his wife back to their RV. Sources for our feature on the escape from Stalag Luft III: Eric Williams, The Wooden Horse , 1949. The Wooden Horse , British Lion Film Corporation, 1950. Oliver Philpot, Stolen Journey , 1952. Here's the movie: It became the third most popular film at the British box office in 1950. The book's success led Williams to write The Tunnel , a prequel that described his and Michael Codner's earlier escape from the Oflag XXI-B camp in Poland. Sources for listener mail: Ian Austen, "When a City Is on the Move, With Mattresses and Dishwashers in Tow," New York Times , July 1, 2013. Localwiki, Davis, Calif., "Moving Day" (accessed April 16, 2015). Samara Kalk Derby, "Happy Holiday or Horror Story? Moving Day Hits UW," Wisconsin State Journal , Aug. 15, 2011. City of Madison Streets & Recycling, "August Moving Days" (accessed April 16, 2015). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White and his daughter Katherine. This episode is sponsored by our patrons and by The Great Courses -- go to http://www.thegreatcourses.com/closet to order from eight of their best-selling courses at up to 80 percent off the original price. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider beco
Mon, April 13, 2015
The Lost Colony
It's been called America's oldest mystery: A group of 100 English colonists vanished from North Carolina's Roanoke Island shortly after settling there in 1587. But was their disappearance really so mysterious? In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the history of the "lost colony" and consider what might have happened to the settlers. We'll also visit an early steam locomotive in 1830 and puzzle over why writing a letter might prove to be fatal. Sources for our feature on the lost colony at Roanoke: James Horn, A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke , 2011. Karen Ordahl Kupperman, Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony , 2007. Giles Milton, Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America , 2011. Lee Miller, Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony , 2013. Fanny Kemble wrote of her encounter with an early locomotive in a letter dated Aug. 26, 1830 ("A common sheet of paper is enough for love, but a foolscap extra can alone contain a railroad and my ecstasies"). It appears in her 1878 memoir Records of a Girlhood . She sat alongside engineer George Stephenson, who explained his great project and with whom she fell "horribly in love." At one point on their 15-mile journey they passed through a rocky defile: You can't imagine how strange it seemed to be journeying on thus, without any visible cause of progress other than the magical machine, with its flying white breath and rhythmical, unvarying pace, between these rocky walls, which are already clothed with moss and ferns and grasses; and when I reflected that these great masses of stone had been cut asunder to allow our passage thus far below the surface of the earth, I felt as if no fairy tale was ever half so wonderful as what I saw. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Blaine, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). This episode is sponsored by our patrons and by The Great Courses -- go to http://www.thegreatcourses.com/closet to order from eight of their best-selling courses at up to 80 percent off the original price. You can listen using the player above, <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/futilitycloset/Futility_Clo
Mon, April 06, 2015
Moving Day in New York
For centuries, May 1 brought chaos to New York, as most tenants had to move on the same day, clogging the streets with harried people and all their belongings. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the colorful history of "Moving Day" and wonder how it lasted through two centuries. We'll also recount some surprising escapes from sinking ships and puzzle over a burglar's ingenuity. Sources for our feature on Moving Day, New York City's historic custom of changing residence on May 1: Kenneth A. Scherzer, The Unbounded Community: Neighborhood Life and Social Structure in New York City, 1830-1875 , 1992. Elizabeth Blackmar, Manhattan for Rent, 1785-1850 , 1991. William Shepard Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs ... Illustrated , 1897. "Expressmen and Cartmen's Charges -- The Laws Relative Thereto," New York Times , April 14, 1870. "Rich Are Homeless This Moving Day," New York Times , Oct. 1, 1919. "Rain Adds to Gloom of City Moving Day," New York Times , Oct. 2, 1919. "May 1 Moving Rush a Thing of the Past," New York Times , May 2, 1922. In 1890 the New York Times published a list of the maximum prices that city ordinances permitted cartmen to charge: Sources for our feature on oddities in maritime disasters: "Andrea Doria Tragedy Recalled by the Survivors," Associated Press, July 24, 1981. "A Remarkable Maritime Disaster," Scientific American , Nov. 24, 1888. "A Remarkable Collision," New Zealand Herald , July 26, 1884. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Ken Murphy. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes o
Sun, March 29, 2015
Poet Doppelgängers
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll look at the strange phenomenon of poet doppelgängers -- at least five notable poets have been seen by witnesses when their physical bodies were elsewhere. We'll also share our readers' research on Cervino, the Matterhorn-climbing pussycat, and puzzle over why a man traveling internationally would not be asked for his passport. Sources for our feature on poet doppelgängers: John Oxenford, trans., The Autobiography of Wolfgang von Goethe , 1969. G. Wilson Knight, Byron and Shakespeare , 2002. Julian Marshall, The Life & Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley , 1889. Jon Stallworthy, Wilfred Owen , 2013. W.E. Woodward, The Gift of Life , 1947. The stories are recounted in the corresponding posts on Futility Closet: Goethe , Byron , Shelley , Owen , Powys . Listener mail: Little House of Cats has a photo of Cervino, the (purported) Matterhorn-scaling kitty cat of 1950 . The Daily Mail has photos of Millie, Utah mountaineer Craig Armstrong's rock-climbing cat . More at Back Country . Further data on cat rambles: BBC News, "Secret Life of the Cat: What Do Our Feline Companions Get Up To?" , June 12, 2013 (accessed March 26, 2015). National Geographic , "Watch: How Far Do Your Cats Roam?" , Aug. 8, 2014 (accessed March 26, 2015). This week's lateral thinking puzzles are from Kyle Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider b
Mon, March 23, 2015
The Great Tea Race
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the dramatic 14,000-mile clipper ship race of 1866, in which five ships competed fiercely to be the first to London with the season's tea. We'll also track the importance of mulch to the readers of the comic book Groo the Wanderer and puzzle over the effects of Kool-Aid consumption on a woman's relationships. Jack Spurling's 1926 painting Ariel & Taeping, China Tea Clippers Race , above, depicts two of the front-runners in the closely contested 1866 race to carry the season's first tea from China to London. The winner remained uncertain throughout the 14,000-mile course; the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette declared it "the closest run ever recorded ... an event of unprecedented occurrence." Our sources for that segment: Basil Lubbock, The China Clippers , 1914. Mike Dash, "The Great Tea Race of 1866," smithsonian.com, Dec. 15, 2011 (accessed March 16, 2015). The Shipping and Mercantile Gazette , Sept. 12, 1866. John T. Irwin, Hart Crane's Poetry , 2011. Filing Cabinet of the Damned reports on the significance of mulch to Groo the Wanderer . This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener Nick Madrid. This episode is sponsored by our patrons and by The Great Courses -- go to http://www.thegreatcourses.com/closet to order from eight of their best-selling courses at up to 80 percent off the original price. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross
Mon, March 16, 2015
Can a Kitten Climb the Matterhorn?
In 1950 newspapers around the world reported that a 10-month-old kitten had climbed the Matterhorn, one of the highest peaks in Europe. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll wonder whether even a very determined kitty could accomplish such a feat. We'll also marvel at a striking demonstration of dolphin intelligence and puzzle over a perplexed mechanic. My own original post about Matt, the kitten who climbed the Matterhorn, appeared on Dec. 17, 2011 . Reader Stephen Wilson directed me to this page , which rehearses the original London Times story (from Sept. 7, 1950) and adds a confirming account from a Times reader that appeared on Sept. 10, 1975. Further sources: "A Cat Climbs the Matterhorn," Miami News , Oct. 19, 1950 (reprinting an editorial, I think, from the San Francisco Chronicle ). "Cat-Climbing on the Matterhorn," Sydney Morning Herald , Sept. 9, 1950. "Mere Kitten Conquers Matterhorn," Spokane Daily Chronicle , Sept. 7, 1950. Here's a photo of the Solvay hut at 12,556 feet, where the kitten reportedly spent the first night of its three-day climb: Sources for our feature on porpoise trainer Karen Pryor: Karen Pryor, Lads Before the Wind , 1975. Thomas White, In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier , 2008. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener David White. This episode is sponsored by our patrons and by The Great Courses -- go to http://www.thegreatcourses.com/closet to order from eight of their best-selling courses at up to 80 percent off the original price. Also by Loot Crate -- go to http://www.lootcrate.com/CLOSET and enter code CLOSET to save $3 on any new subscription. You can listen using the player above, download thi
Mon, March 09, 2015
The Shark Arm Affair
In 1935 a shark in an Australian aquarium vomited up a human forearm, a bizarre turn of events that sparked a confused murder investigation. This week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast presents two cases in which a shark supplied key evidence of a human crime. We'll also learn about the Paris Herald 's obsession with centigrade temperature, revisit the scary travel writings of Victorian children's author Favell Lee Mortimer, and puzzle over an unavenged killing at a sporting event. Sources for our feature on the shark arm affair: Andrew Tink, Australia 1901-2001: A Narrative History , 2014. Dictionary of Sydney, "Shark Arm murder 1935," accessed March 5, 2015. "Arm-Eating Shark Bares Weird Killing," Pittsburgh Press , July 9, 1935. "Shark Gives Up Clue to Murder," Milwaukee Journal , July 9, 1935. "'Shark Arm' Murder Mystery Still Baffles Australian Police," Toledo Blade , Dec. 14, 1952. The 1799 episode of the Nancy 's forged papers appears in (of all places!) Allan McLane Hamilton's 1910 biography The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton appeared for the United Insurance Company in the case). It's confirmed in Xavier Maniguet's 2007 book The Jaws of Death: Sharks as Predator, Man as Prey . Apparently both the "shark papers" and the shark's jaws were put on public display afterward and are now in the keeping of the Institute of Jamaica; I gather the case made a sensation at the time but has largely been forgotten. Sources for our feature on James Gordon Bennett and the "Old Philadelphia Lady": The International New York Times , "Oct. 5, 1947: Old Philadelphia Lady Said It 6,718 Times," Oct. 14, 2013. James B. Townsend, "J.Gordon Bennett, Editor by Cable," New York Times , May 19, 1918. Mark Tungate, Media Monoliths , 2005. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener Lily Geller, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). This episode is sponsored by our patrons and by Loot Crate -- go to http://www.lootcrate.com/CLOSET and enter code CLOSET to save $3 on any new subscription. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/f
Sun, February 22, 2015
The Scariest Travel Books Ever Written
Victorian children's author Favell Lee Mortimer published three bizarre travel books that described a world full of death, vice, and peril. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll sample her terrifying descriptions of the lands beyond England and wonder what led her to write them. We'll also review the movie career of an Alaskan sled dog, learn about the Soviet Union's domestication of silver foxes, and puzzle over some curious noises in a soccer stadium. Favell Lee Mortimer's travel books for children are all available online: The Countries of Europe Described (1850) Far Off, or, Asia and Australia Described (1852) Far Off, or, Africa and America Described (1854) In 2005 Todd Pruzan published a collection of the most xenophobic passages, titled The Clumsiest People in Europe: Or, Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World . Listener mail: Here's a BBC documentary on 1925 serum run to Nome: Fast Company has an article about the breeding of friendly foxes by Russian researchers . And National Geographic goes into greater depth regarding the genetics and evolutionary aspects of domestication in this 2011 article . This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener David White, who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help t
Mon, February 16, 2015
The 1925 Serum Run to Nome
In 1925, Nome, Alaska, was struck by an outbreak of diphtheria, and only a relay of dogsleds could deliver the life-saving serum in time. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the dogs' desperate race through arctic blizzards to save the town from epidemic. We'll also hear a song about S.A. Andree's balloon expedition to the North Pole and puzzle over a lost accomplishment of ancient civilizations. Our segment on the 1925 serum run to Nome was based chiefly on Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury's excellent 2003 book The Cruelest Miles . Here's the statue of Balto, who led the final sled into Nome, in Central Park: The inscription reads "Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin 600 miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters, through arctic blizzards, from Nenona to the relief of stricken Nome." "The Ballad of Knut and Nils," Yann and Cory Seznec's song honoring S.A. Andrée's disastrous 1897 attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon, is on Yann's blog . You can find more of the brothers' music here . This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des McHale's 1998 book Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Sloane invites interested readers to his Lateral Puzzles Forum , where visitors can set and solve these puzzles interactively. This week's episode is sponsored by our patrons and by Harry's -- go to Harrys.com now and they'll give you $5 off if you use the coupon code CLOSET with your first purchase. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode.</p
Sun, February 08, 2015
Crossing Africa for Love
When Ewart Grogan was denied permission to marry his sweetheart, he set out to walk the length of Africa to prove himself worthy of her. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll find out whether Ewart's romantic quest succeeded. We'll also get an update on the criminal history of Donald Duck's hometown, and try to figure out how a groom ends up drowning on his wedding night. Sources for our segment on Ewart Grogan's traversal of Africa: Ewart Scott Grogan and Arthur Henry Sharp, From the Cape to Cairo: The First Traverse of Africa From South to North , 1902. Edward Paice, Lost Lion of Empire: The Life of Cape-to-Cairo Grogan , 2001. Julian Smith, Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure , 2010. Norman Wymer, The Man from the Cape , 1959. Martin Dugard, The Explorers , 2014. Brian O'Brien, "All for the Love of a Lady," in The Best of Field and Stream: 100 Years of Great Writing from America's Premier Sporting Magazine , 2002. "One Incredibly Long Church Aisle," Times Higher Education , June 15, 2001. "A Man Who Did Derring-Do," Telegraph , March 31, 2001. Listener Ed Kitson directed us to this letter from Jane Baillie Welsh to Thomas Carlyle, dated May 7, 1822, in which she writes, "I am not at all the sort of person you and I took me for." And listener Alex Klapheke sent us a copy of Swiss criminologist Karl-Ludwig Kunz's 2004 paper "Criminal Policy in Duckburg," from Images of Crime II: Representations of Crime and the Criminal in Politics, Society, the Media, and the Arts , edited by Hans-Jörg Albrecht, Telemach Serassis, and Harald Kania. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Price Tipping. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You c
Sun, February 01, 2015
Ballooning to the North Pole
In 1897, Swedish patent engineer S.A. Andrée set out in a quixotic bid to reach the North Pole in a hydrogen balloon, departing from Norway with two companions and hoping to drift over the top of the world and come down somewhere in the Bering Strait. Instead the expedition vanished. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn what happened to the Eagle and its three brave passengers, and consider the role of hindsight in the writing of history. We'll also learn what the White House planned to do if Neil Armstrong became stranded on the moon, and puzzle over why seeing a plane flying upside down would impact a woman's job. Sources for our segment on S.A. Andrée's attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon: Henri Lachambre and Alexis Machuron, Andrée and His Balloon , 1898. George Palmer Putnam, Andrée: The Record of a Tragic Adventure , 1930. Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geology, Andrée's Story , 1930. Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geology, The Andrée Diaries , 1931. Alec Wilkinson, The Ice Balloon: S.A. Andrée and the Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration , 2011. Here's the Eagle after its downfall, as recorded by Nils Strindberg's cartographic camera. Even if he'd succeeded, Andrée's bid would have tested the limits of balloon flight: 750 miles separated Spitzbergen from the pole, and the three men would have had to cross another thousand miles to reach the Bering Strait. To get to the pole and then safely back to land in almost any direction would have meant traveling 1,500 miles aloft, and a balloon must travel almost always directly to leeward. Here's the eulogy that William Safire prepared for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the event they became stranded on the moon in July 1969: Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the
Sun, January 25, 2015
Ben Franklin's Guide to Living
As a young man, Benjamin Franklin drew up a "plan for attaining moral perfection" based on a list of 13 virtues. Half a century later he credited the plan for much of his success in life. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore Franklin's self-improvement plan and find out which vices gave him the most trouble. We'll also learn how activist Natan Sharansky used chess to stay sane in Soviet prisons and puzzle over why the Pentagon has so many bathrooms. Sources for our segment on Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues: Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography , 1791. Gordon S. Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin , 2005. Dinah Birch, ed., The Oxford Companion to English Literature , 2009. Here's Franklin's list of virtues: Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. Moderation. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. And here's a sample page from his "little book": Related: As an exercise in penmanship, the teenage George Washington copied out "110 rules of civility and decent behavior in company and conversation," and Thomas Jefferson once sent a "decalogue of canons for observation in practical life" to the new father of a baby boy.
Mon, January 19, 2015
The Balmis Expedition: Using Orphans to Combat Smallpox
(Image: Wikimedia Commons ) In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell how Spanish authorities found an ingenious way to use orphans to bring the smallpox vaccine to the American colonies in 1803. The Balmis Expedition overcame the problems of transporting a fragile vaccine over a long voyage and is credited with saving at least 100,000 lives in the New World. We'll also get some listener updates to the Lady Be Good story and puzzle over why a man would find it more convenient to drive two cars than one. Sources for our segment on the Balmis expedition: J. Antonio Aldrete, "Smallpox Vaccination in the Early 19th Century Using Live Carriers: The Travels of Francisco Xavier de Balmis," Southern Medical Journal , April 2004. Carlos Franco-Paredes, Lorena Lammoglia and José Ignacio Santos-Preciado, "The Spanish Royal Philanthropic Expedition to Bring Smallpox Vaccination to the New World and Asia in the 19th Century," Clinical Infectious Diseases , Nov. 1, 2005. Catherine Mark and José G. Rigau-Pérez, "The World's First Immunization Campaign: The Spanish Smallpox Vaccine Expedition, 1803-1813," Bulletin of the History of Medicine , Spring 2009. John W.R. McIntyre, "Smallpox and Its Control in Canada," Canadian Medical Association Journal , Dec. 14, 1999. Pan-American Health Organization: The Balmis-Salvany Smallpox Expedition: The First Public Health Vaccination Campaign in South America (accessed Jan. 18, 2015). Listener Roger Beck sent these images of the memorial and propeller from the Lady Be Good in Houghton, Mich.: And listener Dan Patterson alerted us to ladybegood.net , an impressive and growing repository of information about the "ghost bomber," including the recovered diaries of co-pilot Robert Toner and flight engineer Harold Ripslinger and some ingenious reconstructions of the lost plane's flight path after the nine crewmen bailed out . This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener David White, who sent these <a hr
Mon, January 12, 2015
The Tragic Tale of the Lady Be Good
The American bomber Lady Be Good left North Africa for a bombing run over Italy in 1943. It wasn't seen again until 15 years later, when explorers discovered its broken remains deep in the Libyan desert. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the strange history of the lost aircraft and trace the desperate last days of its nine crewmen. We'll also climb some twisted family trees and puzzle over the Greek philosopher Thales' struggles with a recalcitrant mule. Sources for our segment on the Lady Be Good : Mario Martinez, Lady's Men , 1995. Dennis E. McClendon, The Lady Be Good: Mystery Bomber of World War II , 1962. Above: The Lady Be Good as she was discovered 440 miles southeast of Benghazi, in remarkably good condition for a plane that had landed itself with one working engine and then lain in the desert for 15 years. The tires on the nose wheel and one of the main landing wheels were undamaged and fully inflated. The crew: William J. Hatton, pilot; Robert F. Toner, co-pilot; D.P. Hays, navigator; John S. Woravka, bombardier; Harold J. Ripslinger, flight engineer; Robert E. LaMotte, radio operator; Guy E. Shelley Jr., waist gunner; Vernon L. Moore, waist gunner; and S.E. Adams, tail gunner. Hatton, the leader, was probably the first to die. Five months before his posting to Libya, he had written to his mother, "There are about four places they can send me. Arizona, Idaho, and Spokane or Tacoma, Washington. I am sitting here waiting to see which one it is. I hope it isn't Arizona because I am tired of sand." Listener mail: Our Dec. 21 post "A Man His Own Grandfather," reprinting an 1868 item about a man whose stepdaughter marries his father, follows a similar post from 2009, "Proof That a Man Can Be His Own Grandfather," which includes a diagram. The song "I'm My Own Grandpa" was released by Lonzo & Oscar in 1947. This cover version includes a diagram that explains the relationships: Thanks to reader David Wright for sending a link to an article in Geneaology Magazine that traces the history of the idea, a
Mon, January 05, 2015
The Mary Celeste: A Great Sea Mystery
In 1872 the British merchant ship Mary Celeste was discovered drifting and apparently abandoned 600 miles off the coast of Portugal. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review this classic mystery of the sea: Why would 10 people flee a well-provisioned, seaworthy ship in fine weather? We'll also get an update on the legal rights of apes and puzzle over why a woman would not intervene when her sister is drugged. Sources for our segment on the Mary Celeste : Paul Begg, Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea , 2005. Charles Edey Fay, Mary Celeste: The Odyssey of an Abandoned Ship , 1942. J.L. Hornibrook, "The Case of the 'Mary Celeste': An Ocean Mystery," Chambers Journal , Sept. 17, 1904. Listener mail: George M. Walsh, "Chimpanzees Don't Have The Same Rights As Humans, New York Court Rules," Associated Press, Dec. 5, 2014. The opinion from the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division: The People of the State of New York ex rel. The Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc., on Behalf of Tommy, Appellant, v. Patrick C. Lavery, Individually and as an Officer of Circle L Trailer Sales, Inc., et al. "Orangutan in Argentina Zoo Recognised by Court as 'Non-Human Person'," Guardian , Dec. 21, 2014. Coffitivity "recreates the ambient sounds of a cafe to boost your creativity and help you work better." This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener Nick Madrid. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or
Mon, December 22, 2014
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are eight new lateral thinking puzzles that you can try on your friends and family over the holidays -- see who can make sense of these odd scenarios using only yes-or-no questions. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the PayPal button in the sidebar of the website . You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Sun, December 14, 2014
The Thunder Stone
In 1768, Catherine the Great ordered her subjects to move a 3-million-pound granite boulder intact into Saint Petersburg to serve as the pedestal for a statue of Peter the Great. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn how some inspired engineering moved the Thunder Stone 13 miles from its forest home to Senate Square, making it the largest stone ever moved by man. We'll also learn whether mutant squid are attacking Indiana and puzzle over why a stamp collector would be angry at finding a good bargain. Our segment on the Thunder Stone is based on Yale linguist Alexander M. Schenker's impeccably researched 2003 history The Bronze Horseman: Falconet's Monument to Peter the Great . Here's an engraving by Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe, The Barge With the Thunder Rock Steadied by Two Cutters of the Imperial Navy En Route to St. Petersburg : Listener mail: Intrepid listener Dan Noland has found five newspaper articles on Indiana's oil pit squids -- his page includes background information and commentary. Wikipedia has an article on Lucian's early satirical science fiction story, which can be found in Greek and English here . This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1994 book Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Please keep sending puzzles -- Sharon's becoming impossible to stump. Please consider becoming a patron of the Futility Closet podcast -- you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can listen to this episode using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycl
Mon, December 08, 2014
Edgar Allan Poe's Graveyard Visitor
For most of the 20th century, a man in black appeared each year at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. In the predawn hours of January 19, he would drink a toast with French cognac and leave behind three roses in a distinctive arrangement. No one knows who he was or why he did this. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the history of the "Poe Toaster" and his long association with the great poet's memorial. We'll also consider whether Winnie-the-Pooh should be placed on Ritalin and puzzle over why a man would shoot an unoffending monk. Sources for our segment on the Poe Toaster: "Mystery Man's Annual Visit to Poe Grave," China Daily , Jan. 20, 2008. "Poe Toaster Remains a Mystery," WBAL Radio, Jan. 19, 2013. "'Toaster' Rejects French Cognac at Poe's grave," Washington Times , Jan. 19, 2004. Sarah Brumfield, "Poe Fans Call an End to 'Toaster' Tradition," AP News, Jan. 19, 2012. Liz F. Kay, "Poe Toaster Tribute Is 'Nevermore'," Baltimore Sun , Jan. 19, 2010. Michael Madden, "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Poe Toaster," Baltimore Sun , Jan. 26, 2011. Mary Carole McCauley, "Poe Museum Could Reopen in Fall," Baltimore Sun , Jan. 20, 2013. Ben Nuckols and Joseph White, "Edgar Allan Poe's Mysterious Birthday Visitor Doesn't Show This Year," Huffington Post, March 21, 2010 (accessed Dec. 1, 2014). Here's the only known photo of the toaster, taken at his 1990 apparition and published in the July 1990 issue of Life magazine: The psychiatric diagnoses of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends appear in Sarah E. Shea, Kevin Gordon, Ann Hawkins, Janet Kawchuk, and Donna Smith, "Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: A Neurodevelopmental P
Mon, December 01, 2014
The Great Moon Hoax
In 1835 the New York Sun announced that astronomers had discovered bat-winged humanoids on the moon, as well as reindeer, unicorns, bipedal beavers and temples made of sapphire. The fake news was reprinted around the world, impressing even P.T. Barnum; Edgar Allan Poe said that "not one person in ten" doubted the story. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the Great Moon Hoax, the first great sensation of the modern media age. We'll also learn why Montana police needed a rabbi and puzzle over how a woman's new shoes end up killing her. Sources for our segment on the Great Moon Hoax: Matthew Goodman, The Sun and the Moon , 2008. The Museum of Hoaxes has an excellent summary of the hoax and its significance in media history, including the text of all six articles. Listener mail: Lauren May, "Terrified Banstead Family Confronted by 'Dark Figure' on Bypass," Epsom Guardian , Feb. 23, 2012. Michael Munro, "'The Springer' Leaps From WW2 Urban Legend to Anti-Fascist Superhero," io9, Sept. 3, 2014 (accessed Nov. 30, 2014). Eric A. Stern, "Yes, Miky, There Are Rabbis in Montana," New York Times , Dec. 4, 2009. "Body of Boy Found as Snow Melts," The Hour , March 1, 1978. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, November 24, 2014
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
For this Thanksgiving episode of the Futility Closet podcast, enjoy seven lateral thinking puzzles that didn't make it onto our regular shows. Solve along with us as we explore some strange scenarios using only yes-or-no questions. Happy Thanksgiving! You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, November 17, 2014
Spring-Heeled Jack -- A Victorian Supervillain
Between 1837 and 1904, rumors spread of a strange bounding devil who haunted southern England, breathing blue flames and menacing his victims with steel talons. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we review the career of Spring-Heeled Jack and speculate about his origins. We also recount Alexander Graham Bell's efforts to help the wounded James Garfield before his doctors' treatments could kill him and puzzle over why a police manual gives instructions in a language that none of the officers speak. Source for our segment on Spring-Heeled Jack: Mike Dash, "Spring-Heeled Jack: To Victorian Bugaboo From Suburban Ghost," Fortean Studies 3 (1996). Sources for our segment on Alexander Graham Bell and James Garfield: Candice Millard, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President , 2011. Amanda Schaffer, "A President Felled by an Assassin and 1880's Medical Care," New York Times , July 25, 2006. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, November 10, 2014
Death and Robert Todd Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln's eldest son, Robert, is the subject of a grim coincidence in American history: He's the only person known to have been present or nearby at the assassinations of three American presidents. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we describe the circumstances of each misfortune and explore some further coincidences regarding Robert's brushes with fatality. We also consider whether a chimpanzee deserves a day in court and puzzle over why Australia would demolish a perfectly good building. Sources for our segment on Robert Todd Lincoln: Jason Emerson, Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln , 2012. Charles Lachman, The Last Lincolns: The Rise and Fall of a Great American Family , 2008. Merrill D. Peterson, Lincoln in American Memory , 1994. Ralph Gary, Following in Lincoln's Footsteps , 2002. Sources for the listener mail segment: "Lyman Dillon and the Military Road," Tri-County Historical Society (accessed 11/06/2014). Charles Siebert, "Should a Chimp Be Able to Sue Its Owner?" , New York Times Magazine , April 23, 2014. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1994 book Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Some corroboration is here (warning: this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, November 03, 2014
The Wow! Signal
In August 1977, Ohio astronomer Jerry Ehman discovered a radio signal so exciting that he wrote "Wow!" in the margin of its computer printout. Arriving from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, the signal bore all the characteristics of an alien transmission. But despite decades of eager listening, astronomers have never heard it repeated. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the story of the "Wow! signal," which remains an intriguing, unexplained anomaly in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. We'll also share some more nuggets from Greg's database of oddities and puzzle over why a man chooses to drive a long distance at only 15 mph. Sources for our segment on the Wow! signal: Robert H. Gray, The Elusive Wow , 2012. Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison, "Searching for Interstellar Communication," Nature , Sept. 19, 1959. Frank White, The SETI Factor , 1990. David W. Swift, SETI Pioneers , 1990. David Darling, The Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia , 2000. Michael Brooks, 13 Things That Don't Make Sense , 2008. "Humanity Responds to 'Alien' Wow Signal, 35 Years Later," space.com, Aug. 17, 2012 (accessed Oct. 31, 2014). Notes and sources for our miscellany from Greg's notes: Iowa City's web page explains that Lyman Dillon plowed a furrow from Iowa City to Dubuque in 1839. The item on oil pit squids is from George Eberhart's 2002 book Mysterious Creatures . The squids were found in "oil-emulsion pits containing antifreeze, stripper, oil, and chemicals used in manufacturing plastic automobile bumpers." Eberhart cites Ken de la Bastide, "Creature in Plant 9 Pits," Anderson (Ind.) Herald Bulletin , March 5, 1997. Thanks to reader John McKenna for letter from the ancient Greek boy Theon to his father. It's from the Oxyrhynchus papyri , from the 2nd or 3rd century: Theon to his father Theon, greeting. It was a fine thing of you not to take me with you to the city! If you won't take me with you to Alexandria I won't write you a letter or speak to you or say goodbye to you; and if you go to Alexandria I won't take your hand nor ever greet you again. That is what will happen if you won't take me. Mother said to Archelaus, 'it quite upsets him to be left behind.' It was good of you to send me presents ... on the 12th, the day you sailed. Send me a lyre, I implore you. If you don't, I won't eat, I won't drink; there now! The item on William and Henry James is fr
Mon, October 27, 2014
Pigs on Trial
For 500 years of European history, animals were given criminal trials: Bulls, horses, dogs, and sheep were arrested, jailed, given lawyers, tried, and punished at community expense. In the latest Futility Closet podcast we'll explore this strange practice and try to understand its significance to the people of the time. We'll also rediscover the source of Futility Closet's name and puzzle over how a ringing bell relates to a man's death. Sources for our segment on animal trials: Anila Srivastava, "'Mean, Dangerous, and Uncontrollable Beasts': Mediaeval Animal Trials," Mosaic , March 2007. Jen Girgen, "The Historical and Contemporary Prosecution and Punishment of Animals," Animal Law Review , 2003. Esther Cohen, "Law, Folklore, and Animal Lore," Past & Present , February 1986. "Medieval Animal Trials," medievalists.net, Sept. 8, 2013 (accessed Oct. 20, 2014). James E. McWilliams, "Beastly Justice," Slate, Feb. 21, 2013. E.P. Evans, The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals , 1906. The Hour of the Pig (released in the United States as The Advocate ), BBC, 1993. Here's the original UTILITY sign from American University's administration building that inspired our name: (Thanks, Karl.) This week's lateral thinking puzzles come from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1994 book Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles and from listener Meaghan Gerard Walsh. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, October 20, 2014
The Oak Island Money Pit
Nova Scotia's Oak Island hides a famously booby-trapped treasure cache -- or so goes the legend. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we review the many attempts to recover the treasure and wonder who could have engineered such a site, what might be hidden there -- and whether, indeed, it contains anything at all. We also puzzle over what a woman's errands can tell us about how her husband died. Sources for our segment on Oak Island: "The Secrets of Oak Island", Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer , March/April 2000. Richard Joltes, "History, Hoax, and Hype: The Oak Island Legend" , Critical Enquiry , accessed Oct. 19, 2014. Edwin Teale, "Mystery Island Baffles Treasure Hunters," Popular Science , May 1939. D'Arcy O'Connor, The Money Pit , 1978. The image above shows the dig as it existed in August 1931. Below is 27-year-old Franklin Roosevelt (third from right) at the 1909 dig: This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Nicholas Madrid. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly , or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, October 06, 2014
The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser
In 1828, a 16-year-old boy appeared in Nuremberg, claiming that he'd spent his whole life alone in a dark cell. In the latest Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the short, sad life of Kaspar Hauser and ponder who he might have been. We'll also revisit the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, encounter some self-landing planes, and puzzle over why a man would bury 15 luxury cars in the desert. Sources for our segment on Kaspar Hauser: Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Lost Prince: The Unsolved Mystery of Kaspar Hauser , 1996. Martin Kitchen, Kaspar Hauser: Europe's Child , 2001. Links from listener mail: Being in the Shadow , Australian psychologist Kate Russo's site about the psychology of eclipse chasing. A 1997 NTSB report regarding a Piper PA-24 that "landed itself" after the pilot passed out due to a carbon monoxide leak. The "cornfield bomber," a Convair F-106 Delta Dart that landed in a Montana farmer's field in 1970 after the pilot ejected. When the local sheriff arrived, the jet's engine was still idling. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1994 book Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles . Corroborating links are here and here (warning -- they spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . We're off next week -- Episode 30 will go up on Oct. 20. Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 29, 2014
The Real-Life Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes was based on a real man, a physician who trained Arthur Conan Doyle at the University of Edinburgh. During his medical lectures, Joseph Bell regularly astonished his students with insights into his patients' lives and characters. "From close observation and deduction, gentlemen," he said, "it is possible to make a diagnosis that will be correct in any and every case. However, you must not neglect to ratify your deductions." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Joseph Bell and review the stories of his legendary acuity. We'll also take a tour through Greg's database of unpublished oddities and puzzle over how having your car damaged might be a good thing. Our segment on Joseph Bell, the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, was based on Northeastern Illinois University literature professor Ely Liebow's 1982 book Dr. Joe Bell: Model for Sherlock Holmes. Our original post on Joseph Bell ran on April 27, 2014 . Harry How's 1892 Strand feature "A Day With Dr. Conan Doyle" is reprinted in the Conan Doyle Encyclopedia . Joseph Bell wrote the introduction to the 1892 edition of A Study in Scarlet -- Wikisource has a scan . Somewhat related: When Arthur Guiterman twitted Doyle for having Holmes denigrate other fictional detectives that had obviously inspired him, Doyle responded in kind . You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 22, 2014
The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz
In September 1940 Polish army captain Witold Pilecki volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz. His reports first alerted the Allies to the horrors at the camp and helped to warn the world that a holocaust was taking place. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Pilecki into the camp, hear his reports of the atrocities he witnessed, and learn why his name isn't better known today. We'll also meet the elusive Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and puzzle over how hitting a target could save thousands of lives. Sources for our segment on Polish army captain Witold Pilecki: The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery . By Witold Pilecki, translated by Jarek Garlinski, 2012. Timothy Snyder, "Were We All People?", New York Times , June 22, 2012. "Meet The Man Who Sneaked Into Auschwitz," National Public Radio , Sept. 18, 2010. Listener mail: The hoax site on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was created by these researchers at the University of Connecticut . (Thanks to listener David Brooks for telling us about this story.) This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White. Related links (warning: these spoil the puzzle) are here , here , and here . You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 15, 2014
A Practical Joke on a Grand Scale
In 1810 someone told hundreds of London merchants that Mrs. Tottenham at 54 Berners Street had requested their services. She hadn't. For a full day the street was packed with crowds of deliverymen struggling to reach a single door -- and the practical joker was never caught. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll hear descriptions of the chaos in Berners Street and meet Theodore Hook, the man who probably planned the whole thing. We'll also revisit the mysterious corpse found on an Australian beach in 1948 and puzzle over an octopus stuck in a tree. Sources for our segment on the Berners Street hoax: Judith Flanders, The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London , 2012. Robert Chambers, The Book of Days , 1832. Theodore Hook, The Life and Remains of Theodore Edward Hook , 1849. John Gibson Lockhart, Theodore Hook, A Sketch , 1852. John Timbs, Lives of Wits and Humourists , 1862. Satirist, or, Monthly Meteor , "The Hoax: An Epistle From Solomon Sappy, Esquire, in London, to his brother Simon at Liverpool," Jan. 1, 1811, pp. 59-61. Listener mail: The new developments in the mystery of the Somerton man are detailed in this article on The Advertiser . Here's "No E," four minutes of E-less hip-hop by Zach Sherwin and George Watsky (thanks, Jocelyn): This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Nick Madrid. You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, September 08, 2014
An Australian Enigma
On Dec. 1, 1948, a well-dressed corpse appeared on a beach in South Australia. Despite 66 years of investigation, no one has ever been able to establish who he was, how he came to be there, or even how he died. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll delve into the mystery of the Somerton man, a fascinating tale that involves secret codes, a love triangle, and the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. We'll also hear Franklin Adams praise the thesaurus and puzzle over some surprising consequences of firing a gun. Sources for our segment on the Somerton man: Mike Dash, "The Body on Somerton Beach," Smithsonianmag.com, Aug. 12, 2011 (retrieved Aug. 31, 2014). Lorena Allam, "The Somerton Man: A Mystery in Four Acts," Radio Australia, Feb. 23, 2014. The corpse of a well-dressed, clean-shaven man, 5'11", age 40-45 and in peak physical condition, was discovered on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, South Australia, early on the morning of Dec. 1, 1948. In a fob pocket of the man's trousers the pathologist at the city morgue found a tiny slip of rolled-up paper bearing the words "Tamam Shud," the final words of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam . This led investigators to a copy of the book, which had been thrown into a car parked near the beach. In the back of the book were these penciled lines, which have never been deciphered. More than 60 years of inquiries around the world have brought us no closer to establishing the dead man's identity. His tombstone gives only the bare facts of his discovery. Franklin Pierce Adams' poem "To a Thesaurus" appears in The Book of Humorous Verse , by Carolyn Wells, 1920. You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have
Mon, September 01, 2014
The World's Worst Poet
William McGonagall has been called "the only truly memorable bad poet in our language," responsible for tin-eared verse that could "give you cauliflower ears just from silent reading": Alas! Lord and Lady Dalhousie are dead, and buried at last, Which causes many people to feel a little downcast; And both lie side by side in one grave, But I hope God in His goodness their souls will save. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll sample McGonagall's writings, follow the poor poet's sadly heroic wanderings, and wonder whether he may have been in on the joke after all. We'll also consider a South Carolina seventh grader's plea to Ronald Reagan and puzzle over a man's outrageous public behavior. Our segment on William McGonagall, the world's worst poet, is drawn from Norman Watson's beautifully researched 2010 book Poet McGonagall: A Biography . The best online source on McGonagall is Chris Hunt's site McGonagall Online , which contains extensive biographical materials, a map of the poet's travels, and a complete collection of his poems. South Carolina seventh grader Andy Irmo's 1984 letter to Ronald Reagan asking that his room be declared a disaster area appears in Dwight Young's 2007 book Dear Mr. President: Letters to the Oval Office from the Files of the National Archives . Our post about it ran on Aug. 14, 2006 . Thanks to listener Nick Madrid for this week's lateral thinking puzzle. You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, August 25, 2014
A Victorian Poisoning Mystery
On New Year's Day 1886, London grocer Edwin Bartlett was discovered dead in his bed with a lethal quantity of liquid chloroform in his stomach. Strangely, his throat showed none of the burns that chloroform should have caused. His wife, who admitted to having the poison, was tried for murder, but the jury acquitted her because "we do not think there is sufficient evidence to show how or by whom the chloroform was administered." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about Edwin and Adelaide Bartlett's strange marriage and consider the various theories that have been advanced to explain Edwin's death. We'll also sample a 50,000-word novel written without the letter E and puzzle over a sure-footed American's visit to a Japanese office building. Sources for our segment on Adelaide Bartlett and the Pimlico poison mystery: "The Pimlico Poisoning Case," The Times , Feb. 16, 1886, 10. "The Pimlico Poisoning Case," The Times , March 8, 1886, 12. "The Pimlico Mystery," The Observer , March 21, 1886, 3. "Central Criminal Court, April 13," The Times , April 14, 1886, 6. "Central Criminal Court, April 16," The Times , April 17, 1886, 6. "The Pimlico Mystery," Manchester Guardian , April 19, 1886, 5. Michael Farrell, "Adelaide Bartlett and the Pimlico Mystery," British Medical Journal , December 1994, 1720-1723. Stephanie J. Snow, Blessed Days of Anaesthesia: How Anaesthetics Changed the World , 2009. A full record of the trial was published in 1886 , with a preface by Edward Clarke, Adelaide's barrister. The full text of Ernest Vincent Wright's 1939 novel Gadsby: A Story of Over 50,000 Words Without Using the Letter "E" , is available at Wikisource . Here's an excerpt from A Void , the English translation of George Perec's 1969 novel La Disparition , also written without the letter E. Two notable Futility Closet posts regarding lipograms: An 1866 poem written without the letter S An 1892 poem each of whose stanzas omits the letter E but includes every other letter of the alphabet (a "lipogram pangram") This week's lateral thinking puzzle comes from Mental Fitness Puzzles , by Kyle Hendrickson, Julie Hendrickson, Matt Kenneke, and Danny Hendrickson, 1998. You can listen using the player above, or <a href=
Mon, August 18, 2014
The Devil's Hoofmarks
On Feb. 9, 1855, the residents of Devon in southern England awoke to find a bewildering set of footprints in the newfallen snow. "These are to be found in fields, gardens, roads, house-tops, & other likely and unlikely places, deeply embedded in snow," ran one contemporary account. "The shape was a hoof." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the surviving descriptions of the odd marks and consider the various explanations that have been offered. We'll also revisit the compassionate Nazi fighter pilot Franz Stigler and puzzle over how to sneak into Switzerland across a guarded footbridge. Our segment on the "devil's hoofmarks" is drawn from Mike Dash's excellent article "The Devil's Hoofmarks: Source Material on the Great Devon Mystery of 1855," which appeared in Fortean Studies 1:1 in 1994. The full text (2MB PDF) is here . The Restricted Data Blog's post on John W. Campbell and his 1941 article “Is Death Dust America’s Secret Weapon?” appeared on March 7, 2014 . The comments include an extensive discussion about Campbell's exchanges with Robert A. Heinlein. You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, August 04, 2014
A Gallant German Fighter Ace
In December 1943, American bomber pilot Charlie Brown was flying a severely damaged B-17 out of Germany when he looked out the cockpit window and saw "the world's worst nightmare" off his right wing -- a fully armed German fighter whose pilot was staring back at him. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the strange drama that ensued, in which German fighter ace Franz Stigler weighed the human impulse to spare the wounded bomber against his patriotic duty to shoot him down. We'll also consider whether animals follow the 10 commandments and wonder why a man might tell his nephew that his dog will be shot. Our segment on Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler is drawn largely from Adam Makos' 2012 book A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II . The book trailer contains brief interviews with both men: Sources for our segment on Ernest Thompson Seton and the 10 commandments: Ernest Thompson Seton, "The Natural History of the Ten Commandments," The Century , November 1907. Theodore Roosevelt, "Nature Fakers," Everybody's Magazine , September 1907. Ralph H. Lutts, The Nature Fakers: Wildlife, Science & Sentiment , 2001. Paul Dickson, Words From the White House , 2013. Our post about Seton's belief that the commandments are "fundamental laws of all creation" and thus might be discovered in the animal world originally appeared on April 21, 2010 . The episode in which Seton's father presented him with a bill for his rearing appears in his wife's 1967 collection of his writings, By a Thousand Fires . Our post recounting it ran on July 8, 2014 . Here's Jackie Cooper crying in Skippy (1931), just after hearing that his dog has been shot: You can listen using the player above, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, July 28, 2014
Life Imitates Science Fiction
In 1944, fully a year before the first successful nuclear test, Astounding Science Fiction magazine published a remarkably detailed description of an atomic bomb. The story, by the otherwise undistinguished author Cleve Cartmill, sent military intelligence racing to discover the source of his information -- and his motives for publishing it. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the investigation that ensued, which involved legendary editor John W. Campbell and illuminated the imaginative power of science fiction and the role of censorship in times of war. We'll also hear Mark Twain's advice against being too clever and puzzle over the failure of a seemingly perfect art theft. Sources for our segment on Cleve Cartmill: Cleve Cartmill and Jean Marie Stine, Deadline & Other Controversial SF Classics , 2011. Albert I. Berger, "The Astounding Investigation: The Manhattan Project's Confrontation With Science Fiction," Analog , September 1984. Robert Silverberg, "Reflections: The Cleve Cartmill Affair" (in two parts), Asimov's Science Fiction , September and October–November 2003. Mark Twain appended the poem "Be Good, Be Good" to a letter to Margaret Blackmer on Nov. 14, 1907: Be good, be good, be always good, And now & then be clever, But don’t you ever be too good, Nor ever be too clever; For such as be too awful good They awful lonely are, And such as often clever be Get cut & stung & trodden on by persons of lesser mental capacity, for this kind do by a law of their construction regard exhibitions of superior intellectuality as an offensive impertinence leveled at their lack of this high gift, & are prompt to resent such-like exhibitions in the manner above indicated — & are they justifiable? alas, alas they (It is not best to go on; I think the line is already longer than it ought to be for real true poetry.) Listener mail: The observation that a letter might be addressed to Glenn Seaborg by listing five chemical elements was made by Jeffrey Winters in "The Year in Science: Chemistry 1997," Discover , January 1998. I don't know whether any such letter was ever delivered successfully. Jeff Van Bueren's article "Postal Experiments" appeared in the Annals of Improbable Research , July/August 2000. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, July 21, 2014
Testing the Post Office
In 1898, 19-year-old W. Reginald Bray made a thorough study of British postal regulations, which laid out rules for mailing everything from bees to elephants and promised that "all letters must be delivered as addressed." He resolved to give the service "a severe test without infringing its regulations." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the antics that followed, in which Bray sent turnips, bicycle pumps, shoes, and even himself through the British post. We'll also sympathize with Lucius Chittenden, a U.S. Treasury official who had to sign 12,500 bonds in one harried weekend in 1862, and puzzle over the worrying train journey of a Wall Street banker. Our segment on W.R. Bray, the Edwardian postal experimentalist, is based chiefly on John Tingey's 2010 book The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects . Tingey maintains a website with an extensive catalog of the curios that Bray sent through the post. Also David Leafe, "The Man Who Posted Himself," Daily Mail , March 19, 2012. In an article in the Royal Magazine in 1904, Bray noted the usefulness of the Post Office's offer to conduct a person "to any address on payment of the mileage charge": What mothers know that, if they like, they can send their little ones to school as letters? Possibly, as soon as the 'mother-readers' see this, the Post Offices will be crowded with toddling infants, both in and out of 'prams,' all waiting to be taken to schools, or out for a day in the country. 'But I should not like my child to be carried with postage stamps, and arrive at the school black with postmarks!' That is what I expect some mothers will say. Oh, don't be alarmed, nothing like this will happen! All that you need to do is to take the child to the Post Office across the road, pay a small fee, and a messenger boy will escort the little one to the very door of the school. However Post Office officials do not appear anxious to gain fame as nurse providers to infants. Miscellaneous postal mischief on Futility Closet: Torturing the Post Office Post Haste Riddling Letters Sources for our segment on L.E. Chittenden, the iron-wristed Register of the Treasury under Lincoln: Lucius Eugene Chittenden, Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration , 1891. Joseph F. Tuttle, "Abraham Lincoln, 'The Perfect Ruler of Men,'" Historical Register of the Colorado Society of the Sons of th
Mon, July 14, 2014
The Mystery of the Disappearing Airmen
In 1942 Navy lieutenant Ernest Cody and ensign Charles Adams piloted a blimp out of San Francisco into the Pacific, looking for Japanese subs. A few hours later the blimp drifted back to land, empty. The parachutes and life raft were in their proper places and the radio was in working order, but there was no trace of Cody or Adams. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the events of that strange day and delve into the inquest that followed. We'll also sample some unpublished items from Greg's trove of Futility Closet research and puzzle over a drink of water that kills hundreds of people. Sources for our segment on the L-8 blimp mystery: Mark J. Price, "60 Years Later, Pilots' Fate Still a Mystery -- 2 Men Aboard Navy Blimp Vanished," Seattle Times , Aug. 18, 2002. Darold Fredricks, "Airships and Moffett Field," San Mateo Daily Journal , July 22, 2013. United Press International, "Goodyear Blimp Retires," July 9, 1982. Some inquest records are available online here . Links mentioned in listener mail: Thad Gillespie explains how George Washington came to have two different birth dates in this blog post . This Gizmodo page , sent by Brian Drake, includes artists' renditions of Pyke's envisioned aircraft carrier and the Sagrada Familia made of pykrete; photos of students and professors from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands using pykrete to make the world's largest ice dome, with a span of 98 feet; and a link to a video of the making of the dome. You can subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset . Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com . Thanks for listening!
Mon, July 07, 2014
An Aircraft Carrier Made of Ice
In 1943 German submarines were devastating the merchant convoys carrying supplies to Britain. Unable to protect them with aircraft or conventional ships, the resource-strapped Royal Navy considered an outlandish solution: a 2-million-ton aircraft carrier made of ice. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we follow the strange history of the project, which Winston Churchill initially praised as dazzling but which ended in ignominy at the bottom of a Canadian lake. We'll also discover a love pledge hidden for 200 years in the heart of a Yorkshire tree and puzzle over the deaths of two men in a remote cabin. Our segment on Project Habbakuk is based chiefly on L.D. Cross' 2012 book Code Name Habbakuk . In the photo above, research workers cut ice and form it into beams on Lake Louise near the Chateau Lake Louise resort hotel in 1943. Our post on the Yorkshire inscription appeared on Dec. 18, 2009 . Sources for the podcast segment: John Lindley, The Theory and Practice of Horticulture , 1855, citing the Gardener's Chronicle of 1841. "Redcarre, a Poor Fysher Towne," in the Journal of Horticulture and Practical Gardening , Aug. 4, 1870. "Local Writers and Local Worthies: William and Cholmley Turner," in William Hall Burnett, Old Cleveland: Being a Collection of Papers , 1886. Kazlitt Arvine, Cyclopaedia of Anecdotes of Literature and the Fine Arts , 1856. Here's the illustration from Lindley: The inscription reads: THIS TRE LOVNG TIME WITNES BEARE OF TOW LOVRS THAT DID WALK HEA RE Thomas Browne's poem "The Lovers to Their Favourite Tree" appears in his Poems on Several Occasions , from 1800: Long the wintry tempests braving, Still this short inscription keep; Still preserve this rude engraving, On thy bark imprinted deep: This tree long time witness bear, Two true-lovers did walk here. By the softest ties united, Love has bound our souls in one; And by mutual promise plighted, Waits the nuptial rite alone-- Thou, a faithful witness bear, Of our plighted promise here. Tho' our sires would gladly sever Those firm ties they disallow, Yet they cannot part us ever -- We will keep our faithful vow, And in spite of threats severe, Still will meet each other
Mon, June 30, 2014
A Very Popular Sack of Flour
In 1864 Nevada mining merchant Reuel Gridley found a unique way to raise money for wounded Union soldiers: He repeatedly auctioned the same 50-pound sack of flour, raising $250,000 from sympathetic donors across the country. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll discover the origins of Gridley's floury odyssey. We'll also hear H.L. Mencken's translation of the Declaration of Independence into American English and try to figure out where tourism increases the price of electricity. Sources for our story on Reuel Gridley and the flour auction: Ralph Lea and Christi Kennedy, "Reuel Gridley and a Sack of Flour," Lodi [Calif.] News-Sentinel , Sept. 30, 2005. Mark Twain, Roughing It , 1872. Here's his monument, in the Stockton Rural Cemetery in California: Image: Wikimedia Commons The empty flour sack is in the collection of the Nevada Historical Society. "The Declaration of Independence in American," by H.L. Mencken, from The American Language , 1921: When things get so balled up that the people of a country have to cut loose from some other country, and go it on their own hook, without asking no permission from nobody, excepting maybe God Almighty, then they ought to let everybody know why they done it, so that everybody can see they are on the level, and not trying to put nothing over on nobody. All we got to say on this proposition is this: first, you and me is as good as anybody else, and maybe a damn sight better; second, nobody ain't got no right to take away none of our rights; third, every man has got a right to live, to come and go as he pleases, and to have a good time however he likes, so long as he don't interfere with nobody else. That any government that don't give a man these rights ain't worth a damn; also, people ought to choose the kind of goverment they want themselves, and nobody else ought to have no say in the matter. That whenever any goverment don't do this, then the people have got a right to can it and put in one that will take care of their interests. Of course, that don't mean having a revolution every day like them South American coons and yellow-bellies and Bolsheviki, or every time some job-holder does something he ain't got no business to do. It is better to stand a little graft, etc., than to have revolutions all the time, like them coons and Bolsheviki, and any man that wasn't a anarchist or one of them I. W. W.'s would say the same. But when things get so bad that a man ain't hardly got no rights at all no more, but you might almost call him a slave, then everybody oug
Mon, June 23, 2014
The Flannan Isles Mystery
In 1900 three lighthouse keepers vanished from a remote, featureless island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. The lighthouse was in good order and the log showed no sign of trouble, but no trace of the keepers has ever been found. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore the conundrum of the men's disappearance -- a classic mystery of sea lore. We'll also ponder the whereabouts of Robert Louis Stevenson's birthday, admire Esaw Wood's quest for a wood saw that would saw wood, and wonder why drinking a glass of water might necessitate a call to the auto club. Sources for our segment on the Flannan Isles lighthouse: Christopher Nicholson, Rock Lighthouses of Britain , 1983. "The Mystery of Flannan Isle," Northern Lighthouse Board, retrieved June 18, 2014. Mike Dash, "The Vanishing Lighthousemen of Eilean Mór," Fortean Studies 4 (1998). Sources for the story about Robert Louis Stevenson's bequest of his birthday: Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Graham Balfour, Works, Volume 24 , 1905. Elmo Scott Watson, "Famous Writer Gave Most Unusual 'Christmas Gift' in All History," Ironwood [Mich.] Times , Dec. 23, 1938. “Inherits Birthday,” Sherbrooke [Quebec] Telegram , Jan. 11, 1934. Here's the deed: Vailima, June 19, 1891. I, Robert Louis Stevenson, Advocate of the Scots Bar, author of The Master of Ballantrae and Moral Emblems, stuck civil engineer, sole owner and patentee of the Palace and Plantation known as Vailima in the island of Upolu, Samoa, a British Subject, being in sound mind, and pretty well, I thank you, in body: In consideration that Miss Annie H. Ide, daughter of H.C. Ide, in the town of Saint Johnsbury, in the county of Caledonia, in the state of Vermont, United States of America, was born, out of all reason, upon Christmas Day, and is therefore out of all justice denied the consolation and profit of a proper birthday; And considering that I, the said Robert Louis Stevenson, have attained an age when O, we never mention it, and that I have now no further use for a birthday of any description; ... And in consideration that I have met H.C. Ide, the father of the said Annie H. Ide, and found him about as white a land commissioner as I require: Have transferred, and do hereby transfer, to the said Annie H. Ide, all and whole my rights and privileges in the thirteenth day of November, formerly my birthday, now, hereby, and henceforth, the birthday of the said Annie H. Ide, to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the same in the customary manner, by the sporting of fine raiment, eating of rich
Mon, June 16, 2014
The Unsinkable Violet Jessop
Stewardess Violet Jessop was both cursed and blessed -- during the 1910s she met disaster on all three of the White Star Line's Olympic class of gigantic ocean liners, but she managed to escape each time. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll accompany Violet on her three ill-fated voyages, including the famous sinkings of the Titanic and the Britannic , and learn the importance of toothbrushes in ocean disasters. We'll also play with the International Date Line and puzzle over the identity of Salvador Dalí's brother. Show notes: University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt discusses his coin-flipping experiment about halfway through this BBC podcast . The associated website is here . We first wrote about Violet Jessop on March 11, 2009 . Maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham interviewed her in 1970 for The Only Way to Cross , his 1978 book about the era of ocean liners. When Violet died in 1971 she left a manuscript to her daughters, which, edited by Maxtone-Graham, came to light in 1997 as Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop, Who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters . A poetic note from Maxtone-Graham in that book: "One particular service commemorates the 1500 lost on the Titanic : Every 14th of April, a United States Coast Guard cutter comes to pay the homage of the Ice Patrol, which owes its inception to the disaster. With engines stilled and church pennant at the masthead, officers and men line the deck in full dress, while the commander reads the burial service. Three volleys of rifle fire can be heard, then the cutter passes on, leaving a lone wreath on the waves above the broken hull." Lewis Carroll underscored the need for an international date line with this conundrum, which he presented among the mathematical puzzle stories he wrote for the Monthly Packet in the 1880s: The day changes only at midnight. Suppose it's midnight in Chelsea; Wednesday has concluded and Thursday is about to begin. It's still Wednesday in Ireland and America, and it's already Thursday in Germany and Russia. That's fine. But continue in both directions. If it's Wednesday in America, is it Wednesday in Hawaii? If it's Thursday in Russia, is it Thursday in Japan? Mustn't the two days 'meet' on the farther side of the globe? "It isn’t midnight anywhere else; so it can't be changing from one day to another anywhere else. And yet, if Ireland and America and so on call it Wednesday, and Germany and Russia and so on call it Thursday, there must be some place, not Chelsea, that has different days on the two sides of it. And the worst of it is, the people there get their days in th
Mon, June 09, 2014
An Ingenious Escape From Slavery
Georgia slaves Ellen and William Craft made a daring bid for freedom in 1848: Ellen dressed as a white man and, attended by William as her servant, undertook a perilous 1,000-mile journey by carriage, train, and steamship to the free state of Pennsylvania in the North. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the couple's harrowing five-day adventure through the slave-owning South. We'll also discover the best place in the United States to commit a crime and sample the aphoristic poetry of Danish mathematician Piet Hein. Our post on Ellen and Willliam Craft appeared on July 19, 2012 . Here are the two as they normally appeared: And here's Ellen dressed as a rheumatism-ridden white man: In order to show her likeness clearly, this image omits the poultice that she wore on her chin. Their book Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom appeared in 1860. Here's an excerpt explaining what awaited them if they were confronted at any point on their 1,000-mile journey: If [a] coloured person refuses to answer questions put to him, he may be beaten, and his defending himself against this attack makes him an outlaw, and if he be killed on the spot, the murderer will be exempted from all blame; but after the coloured person has answered the questions put to him, in a most humble and pointed manner, he may then be taken to prison; and should it turn out, after further examination, that he was caught where he had no permission or legal right to be, and that he has not given what they term a satisfactory account of himself, the master will have to pay a fine. On his refusing to do this, the poor slave may be legally and severely flogged by public officers. Should the prisoner prove to be a free man, he is most likely to be both whipped and fined. At several points whites upbraided Ellen for treating William decently. On the steamer to Charleston, a Southern military officer told her: You will excuse me, Sir, for saying I think you are very likely to spoil your boy by saying 'thank you' to him. I assure you, sir, nothing spoils a slave so soon as saying 'thank you' and 'if you please' to him. The only way to make a nigger toe the mark, and to keep him in his place, is to storm at him like thunder, and keep him trembling like a leaf. Don't you see, when I speak to my Ned, he darts like lightning; and if he didn't I'd skin him. Our post about the Woodrow Wils
Mon, June 02, 2014
The Great Race, Grace Kelly's Tomahawk, and Dreadful Penmanship
The New York Times proposed an outrageous undertaking in 1908: An automobile race westward from New York to Paris, a journey of 22,000 miles across all of North America and Asia in an era when the motorcar was "the most fragile and capricious thing on earth." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the six teams who took up the challenge and attempted "the most perilous trip ever undertaken by man." We'll also see how a tomahawk linked Alec Guinness and Grace Kelly for 25 years and hear poet Louis Phillips lament his wife's handwriting.
Mon, May 26, 2014
A Woolf in Sheikh's Clothing
Irish practical joker Horace de Vere Cole orchestrated his masterpiece in 1910: He dressed four friends as Abyssinian princes and inveigled a tour of a British battleship. One of the friends, improbably, was Virginia Woolf disguised in a false beard and turban. We'll describe how the prank was inspired and follow the six through their tension-filled visit to the HMS Dreadnought . We'll also examine the value of whistles to Benjamin Franklin and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, May 19, 2014
A Baboon Soldier, Lighthouse Rescues, and a Parliament of Owls
When Albert Marr joined the South African army in 1915, he received permission to bring along his pet baboon, Jackie. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Jackie's adventures in England, Egypt, and Belgium, his work for the Red Cross after the war, and his triumphant return to Pretoria in 1919. We'll also meet a Rhode Island lighthouse keeper's daughter who saved the lives of 18 people over a period of 48 years, and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, May 12, 2014
The Monkey Signalman, Racetrack ESP, and Toxic Dumps
After losing his feet in an accident in the 1880s, South Africa railway worker James "Jumper" Wide found an unlikely friend in a baboon named Jack. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn how Jumper taught Jack to work as a signalman on the railway line, where he won the trust of both authorities and passengers. We'll also meet an Englishman who dreamed the winners of horse races, ponder the strange case of the Stringfellow Acid Pits, and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, May 05, 2014
Owney the Mail Dog, Candy Bombers, and Bertrand Russell
In 1888 a mixed-breed terrier appointed himself mascot of America's railway postal service, accompanying mailbags throughout the U.S. and eventually traveling around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll recount Owney's postal adventures and the wave of human affection that followed him. We'll also look at an Air Force pilot who dropped candy on parachutes to besieged German children in 1948, learn the link between drug lord Pablo Escobar and feral hippos in Colombia, and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, April 28, 2014
Louisiana Hippos, Imaginary Epidemics, and Charles Lindbergh
Two weeks before Charles Lindbergh's famous flight, a pair of French aviators attempted a similar feat. Their brave journey might have changed history -- but they disappeared en route. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the flight of the "White Bird" -- and ponder what became of it. We'll also examine a proposal to build hippo ranches in the Louisiana bayou in 1910, investigate historical outbreaks of dancing, laughing, and other strange behavior, and present the next Futility Closet challenge.
Mon, April 21, 2014
Texas Camels, Zebra Stripes, and an Immortal Piano
The 1850s saw a strange experiment in the American West: The U.S. Army imported 70 camels for help in managing the country's suddenly enormous hinterland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll see how the animals acquitted themselves in an unfamiliar land under inexperienced human masters. We'll also learn a surprising theory regarding the origin of zebra stripes; follow the further adventures of self-mailing ex-slave Henry "Box" Brown; ask whether a well-wrought piano can survive duty as a beehive, chicken incubator, and meat safe; and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, April 14, 2014
Mailing People, Alien Shorthand, and Benjamin Franklin
Henry Brown found a unique way to escape slavery: He mailed himself to Pennsylvania. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll accompany Brown on his perilous 1849 journey from Richmond to Philadelphia, follow a 5-year-old Idaho girl who was mailed to her grandparents in 1914, and delve deeper into a mysterious lion sighting in Illinois in 1917. We'll also decode a 200-year-old message enciphered by Benjamin Franklin, examine an engraved ball reputed to have fallen out of the Georgia sky in 1887, and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, April 07, 2014
Mystery Airships, Marauding Lions, and Nancy Drew
In 1896 a strange wave of airship sightings swept Northern California; the reports of strange lights in the sky created a sensation that would briefly engulf the rest of the country. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine some of the highlights of this early "UFO" craze, including the mysterious role of a San Francisco attorney who claimed to have the answer to it all. We'll also examine the surprising role played by modern art in disguising World War I merchant ships and modern cars, discover unexpected lions in central Illinois and southern England, and present the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, March 31, 2014
Extreme Pedestrians, Kangaroo Stew, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In 1926, a woman named Lillian Alling grew disenchanted with her life as a maid in New York City and resolved to return to her native Russia. She lacked the funds to sail east, so instead she walked west -- trekking 6,000 miles alone across the breadth of Canada and into Alaska. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll consider Alling's lonely, determined journey, compare it to the efforts of other long-distance pedestrians, and suggest a tool to plot your own virtual journey across the United States. We'll also learn the truth about the balloon-borne messenger dogs of 1870 Paris, ponder the significance of October 4 to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and offer a chance to win a book in the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Mon, March 24, 2014
Mass Hysteria, Airborne Sheepdogs and Mark Twain's Brother
As skywatchers prepared for the return of Halley's comet in 1910, they heard some alarming scientific predictions: Poisonous gases in the comet's tail might "snuff out all life on the planet," "leaving the burnt and drenched Earth no other atmosphere than the nitrogen now present in the air." How should a responsible citizen evaluate a dire prediction by a minority of experts? In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we explore the Halley's hysteria, remember the alarming predictions made for Y2K, and recall a forgotten novella in which Arthur Conan Doyle imagined a dead Earth fumigated by cosmic ether. We also consider the odd legacy of an Australian prime minister who disappeared in 1967, investigate the role of balloon-borne sheepdogs during the Siege of Paris, learn why Mark Twain's brother telegraphed the entire Nevada constitution to Washington D.C. in 1864, and offer a chance to win a book in the next Futility Closet Challenge.
Fri, March 14, 2014
Calendar Reform, Doll Mansions, and Hitchcock's Vertigo
Will New Year's Day fall on a weekend in the year 2063? If calendar reformer Moses Cotsworth had succeeded, anyone in the world could have answered that question instantly -- any of us could name the day of the week on which any future date would fall, no matter how distant. In Episode 1 of the Futility Closet podcast, we examine Cotsworth's plan and discover how it found a home inside one well-known American company. We also look at how an antique dollhouse offers a surprising window into 17th-century Dutch history, explore a curious puzzle in an Alfred Hitchcock film, and invite you to participate in the first Futility Closet Challenge.
loading...