What do killer drinking cups and the war against house flies have in common? They were both odd news articles in 1910.
In this listicle, we will explore several odd news reports from the past while silently realizing that not much has changed in over a hundred years.
1. Killer Drinking Cups
In times past, public drinking cups would be hung on hooks beside fountains for all to share. Shared drinking cups would also be used in schools where, when a child was thirsty, they would fill the cup with water, have a drink, and then set it down for the next person.
However, in 1910 a study was done on a cup used by high school students. The report stated that the cup had been used in a high school for several months without being washed. It was lined with a thick brown deposit.
The muck in the cup was examined and found to contain mud, thousands of bits of dead skin, and bacteria.
Scientists injected the concoction into two guinea pigs. The first died after forty hours from pneumonia. The second guinea pig developed tuberculosis.
After the study, scientists and doctors began asking school boards to replace the drinking cups with a type of cup that allowed water to flow over the rims all the time. Presumably, it would keep the cup clean with the flowing water, but again, everyone would have been sharing this one cup. [Source: Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.), 20 Oct. 1910.]
2. Man Crushed By Huge Magnet
A steelworker’s job was and still is fraught with danger. In Pittsburg, 35-year-old John Warnack was carrying a steel billet when he accidentally came under the influence of a 30-ton magnet. The man was yanked up, and his head got caught between the magnet and the billet.
His co-workers rushed to save him, but at first, they forgot to turn off the current that ran through the magnet. When someone finally did turn off the magnet, Warnack and the billet came crashing to the ground.
Warnack’s head was crushed, and his leg was broken in the fall. He passed away roughly two hours later in the hospital. [Source: Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.), 08 Dec. 1910.]
3. The Belled Rat
When a shopkeeper trapped three rats in a cafe in Poughkeepsie, the local practical joker thought it would be fun to put a bell on the largest rat and set it free again. But, much to everyone’s dismay, the rat was quite a traveler, and his bell could be heard within the walls of the townhomes for quite some time afterward. [Source: The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.), 10 March 1910.]
4. Doughnuts Cause Nightmares
The University of Chicago was to hold a charity ball but could not decide what to serve for refreshments after the event. So, for three hours, students and faculty debated on whether or not to serve doughnuts.
According to staff, when they served doughnuts at the previous year’s event, local doctors had an influx of students suffering from nightmares the following two days. Naturally, therefore, doughnuts served near midnight would cause nightmares.
To avoid another series of bad dreams, staff provided students with small cakes and cookies along with pink lemonade. [Source: The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.), 10 March 1910.]
5. The Start of Telemarketing
While the thought of doughnuts causing nightmares might be quaint, we also see that merchants were busy starting a different kind of nightmare that haunts us to this very day.
It appears as though 1910 was the start of some heavy telemarketing campaigns. You see, as telephones were installed in more and more homes, local merchants discovered that they could contact their customers directly whenever new stock came into their stores. This meant that people began receiving calls when the jewelry store got fresh pearls in stock or the latest fashionable neck scarves arrived at the men’s store.
Businesses found direct phone calls to be as cheap as sending out circulars. They were able to gain buyers’ attention more quickly than with a newspaper ad. [Source: Tensas gazette. (St. Joseph, La.), 11 Nov. 1910.]
6. War Against Houseflies
And while we are on the topic of pests, the great minds of the U.S. decided that the housefly, commonly viewed as a pest, was actually the most deadliest creature on the face of the earth. It was stated that “the house fly has been publicly indicted as a murderer of the human race, the greatest disease propagator and the carrier of more menacing and malignant germs than all other creatures pot together.”
In order to completely eradicate the housefly, Uncle Sam asked that every man, woman, and child kill every housefly they see. There were even talks about making it a competition, seeing who could kill the most flies in a set amount of time. [Source: The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.), 24 Aug. 1910. Multiple other articles about the war on house flies.]
