Hi everyone, this is Elizabeth from Strange Ago, and today I want to share a few newspaper stories that I found to be rather unusual, dubious, and somewhat odd.
1. Wore a Mask and a Comb
First, let’s begin with an article from 1906 that was titled “Wore a Mask and a Comb.” In this report, we discover a group of doctors claiming that a rather naked private dance was for scientific purposes.
“Clad in a red velvet mask and an amber hair comb, a young woman was giving scientific demonstrations in physical culture Sunday at the residence of Drs. C.M. and Walter M. Fitch before a group of doctors.
“While the exhibition was in progress three policemen entered and took the girl and Dr. Walter Fitch to the police station. They were released on bond and will give a more extended account of the demonstration later in the police court.” [Source]
2. Frightened to Death
During this same year, a man in The Tombs, or more formally known as the Manhattan Detention Complex, supposedly died of fright.
As the article states:
“Antonio Spinelli, 29 years old, awaiting trial in the Tombs for the murder of a fellow countryman, died last night. The keepers declare the man was frightened to death. They say that some friends called to see Spinelli last week just after another Italian had been sentenced to die in the electric chair. They told Spinelli about it. He became badly scared, could think and talk of nothing else, and began to fail. Last night the keepers found him unconscious in his cell. He died in half an hour.” [Source]
3. Tooth Worms
So far we’ve touched on doctor studies and a questionable death. Now we are going to take a look at tooth worms.
The idea that worms caused cavities has been around for centuries and can be found in numerous cultures. However, an article published in 1895 takes a look at Chinese dentistry and the extraction of tooth worms.
“[Chinese dentists] appear to have three methods [for the] treatment [of painful teeth]: First, extraction, the patient’s attention being distracted and his lamentations overpowered by the beating of a loud gong; second, the application of arsenic to kill an exposed pulp, and third, the extraction of ‘tooth worms.’ The latter operation, usually performed by women, is very frequently resorted to, and undoubtedly worms are produced from the tooth… which are usually concealed under their long fingernails.”
A firsthand observer of the removal of tooth worms stated:
“A chopstick and a silver pin are the only instruments she requires in her normal act… She brings the chopstick in contact with the diseased tooth and cautiously pokes it through with a pin in search of the odious worm. After a while she scrapes out a lump of yellow minute worms on the chopstick and immerses it in a cup of water.” [Source]
4. Monster Giant
Finally, out of New Mexico, 1902, we find an article about giant bones being discovered.
Some of you who research giant bones found in the United States have more than likely heard of the remains found on the Quintana ranch. For everyone else, here is one of the early reports:
“They found it on the premises of Quintana’s ranch, the great grave being marked at the head and foot by roughly hewn building stone. The grave was 15 feet long and 8 feet in width. The body had been broken in order to get it into the grave which was too short.
“The forearm, from wrist to elbow, measures four feet. The jaw bone is a good three feet. Only the lower jaw bone is preserved. In it is a tooth large enough for a milk stool. The ribs are enormous. The five men who saw the grave opened and who measured the dead giant agreed that his chest measurement could not have been less than eight feet. Other rough tombstones in that vicinity indicate that thereabout sleep other remnants of a race without a name and without a history written only in the bowels of the silent earth.” [Source]
