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Jimmy the Dog Saved a Baby Abandoned in a New York City Yard
Early one morning in April 1909, Mrs. Mary Theodore let her small black-and-tan dog, Jimmy, into the yard while she prepared breakfast. It was an…
Alleged Washington Burglars Were Betrayed by a Noisy Dumb Waiter
In the silence before dawn on January 13, 1930, someone inside Washington’s Ashley Apartments heard a dumb waiter making strange noises. A dumb waiter was…
Faithful Dog Saved Girls Trapped Overnight in a Bay City Closet
Three little girls disappeared from their homes in Bay City, Michigan, one afternoon in April 1909. For the next 20 hours, their families and neighbors…
D.C. Woman Claimed a Tea Burn Left Her Unable to Wear Evening Dresses
A cup of hot tea, two busy corridors, and one badly timed collision were enough to send two prominent Washington women into court in January…
The Red-Hot Poker Murder That Horrified a Pennsylvania Village
In February 1891, newspapers carried the story of a brutal murder committed in a small village near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The victim was a woman of…
How Tea Helped Fuel Byrd’s Perilous Antarctic Expedition
The bulletin appeared while Commander Richard E. Byrd and his crew were undertaking their first Antarctic expedition. Byrd had already become famous for his 1926…
Exploding Liquor Bottles Betrayed a Washington Driver During Prohibition
During Prohibition, transporting illegal liquor required secrecy, careful planning, and, preferably, bottles that did not announce their presence by exploding beneath the hood of your…
Broken Cigarette Lighter Saves Illinois Man From Bullet
A broken cigarette lighter turned out to be far more useful than its owner ever expected when it reportedly saved him from a gunshot in…
11-Year-Old Boy’s Search for Missing Family Ends at Boston Morgue
An 11-year-old Boston boy spent an entire day in September 1924 searching for his missing mother and siblings, only to have his search end in…
Bare-Legged Woman Startles London’s Financial District in 1919
In the summer of 1919, a young woman caused a minor sensation in London simply by walking through the financial district without stockings. At a…
