Futility Closet

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 [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

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

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

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,"

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

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

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

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'

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

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

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

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.

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 [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 (

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

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

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

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

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

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

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, <

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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.<

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

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

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

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. "

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

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 <

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-

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

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

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:/

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

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

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

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 [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

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