Recent Posts
Profane Parrot Talked Its Way Out of the St. Louis Zoo
The St. Louis Zoo had a parrot problem. Its red-headed bird had developed such a colorful vocabulary that newspaper reports claimed it talked like a…
Rats Attacked a Man Trapped for Days Inside a Wrecked Schooner
Albert Jackson was supposed to be dead. When the schooner Jessie P. was caught in a violent Gulf storm in 1896, the crew abandoned the…
Armed Dover Residents Chased a Mysterious Animal Through Town in 1900
For months, residents around Dover, Georgia, were convinced that some unknown beast was stalking their community. Dogs and hogs were disappearing. Witnesses described a large…
Children Clung to Their Mothers as Fire Swept Through Steamboat
Most of the passengers aboard the City of Pittsburg were still asleep when fire broke out before dawn. Within minutes, the side-wheel steamer was filling…
Savannah Man Set a Trap for a Newspaper Thief and Found an Unexpected Suspect
Someone in Savannah had been stealing the morning newspaper. At least, that was the only explanation that seemed to make sense. For several mornings, a…
Washington Farmer Claimed He Was Drugged, Robbed and Left With Nothing
John Johnson went to the police looking for help after claiming he had been drugged and robbed at a Ritzville gambling house. According to the…
Indiana Coal Miners Went on Strike to Protect the Mine Mules
In 1902, a group of Indiana coal miners walked off the job for an unusual reason: the mules were not being treated properly. The animals…
Baby Girl Found Abandoned in Bushes Along a Vermont Road
William Dubuque was walking home near Richmond, Vermont, one August evening in 1918 when he noticed an automobile stop along the road. As he approached…
Fishing Boat Ran Wild After Lightning Knocked the Crew Unconscious
A fishing trip on the Delaware River turned deadly when a thunderstorm swept over three men laying nets off the New Jersey shore. A bolt…
British Soldiers Came to Teach the U.S. Army Military Gymnastics
In 1902, the United States Army was looking across the Atlantic for a new way to train its soldiers. After American generals watched British troops…
