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… Read the rest of the article: Eight lateral thinking puzzles

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… Read the rest of the article: Sidney Cotton risked his life to gather aerial photos during World War II

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1891, an unknown criminal began poisoning women in London

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… Read the rest of the article: Between 1856 and 1889, a mysterious leather-clad man walked the roads of Connecticut and New York

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… Read the rest of the article: Englishman Nathaniel Courthope spent four years defending a tiny island's nutmeg from the Dutch

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… Read the rest of the article: One night in July 1904, H. Rider Haggard dreamed that his daughter's dog was dying

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1945, a U.S. Army transport plane crashed in the highlands of New Guinea

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… Read the rest of the article: In the 1920s, painters of luminous watch dials began to fall mysteriously ill

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… Read the rest of the article: Stories from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

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… Read the rest of the article: A French spy, a transatlantic voyage, and the birth of the modern strawberry

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.… Read the rest of the article: In 1864, two ships were wrecked on the same remote island. Unaware of each other, their crews struggled to survive

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1959, Marine pilot William Rankin parachuted through a violent thunderstorm

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… Read the rest of the article: Six lateral thinking puzzles

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1850, a Nile hippo created a stir when it arrived at the London Zoo

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,… Read the rest of the article: Did an 1860 ad for Pony Express riders say "Orphans Preferred"?

In 1818, Army veteran John Cleves Symmes declared that the earth was hollow and proposed to lead an expedition to its interior. He promoted the theory in lectures and even… Read the rest of the article: In 1818, John Cleves Symmes Jr. declared that the earth was hollow

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1857, guests at Washington D.C.'s National Hotel began to come down with a mysterious illness

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… Read the rest of the article: It's still uncertain who fired the shot that killed Manfred von Richthofen

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1917 two English girls came home with a photograph of fairies

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,… Read the rest of the article: In 1898 a Belgian ship was frozen into the ice off the coast of Antarctica