Here are eight 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: Eight lateral thinking puzzles

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1928, the world's third-richest man inexplicably fell from an airplane

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,… Read the rest of the article: After losing his sight at age 25, James Holman became the most prolific traveler of his day

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… Read the rest of the article: Joseph Medicine Crow fulfilled four traditional war deeds during World War II

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… Read the rest of the article: George Parker Bidder could do stupendously difficult arithmetic in his head

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… Read the rest of the article: Eccentric adventurer John Hornby clawed a living from the inhospitable tundra of northern Canada

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… Read the rest of the article: Friedrich Kellner kept a secret diary to record the crimes of the Third Reich

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… Read the rest of the article: Mildred Norman gave away her possessions to walk North America in the cause of peace

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 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… Read the rest of the article: In 1967, American businessman Jim Thompson disappeared from a cottage in Malaysia

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… Read the rest of the article: Beryl Markham trained racehorses, flew across the Atlantic, and wrote a book that impressed Hemingway

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1914, a series of horrific murders unfolded at Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin estate

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.… Read the rest of the article: In 1913, New York publicist John Duval Gluck proposed to answer Santa's mail

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1911 the last member of the Yahi people appeared in Oroville, California

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… Read the rest of the article: A woman found in Berlin in 1920 claimed to be a Romanov princess

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?… Read the rest of the article: In 1912, 4-year-old Bobby Dunbar disappeared during a family outing in Louisiana

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… Read the rest of the article: An elaborate scam in Grand Central Terminal in 1929

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1939, British stockbroker Nicholas Winton helped 669 children escape the Nazis in Czechoslovakia

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1829 a group of convicts stole a ship in Tasmania and made their way into the Pacific

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… Read the rest of the article: In 1890, cinema pioneer Louis Le Prince boarded a train and disappeared