Category: History
5 Shocking Reasons People Robbed Graves in the 1800s
Imagine this: it’s a foggy night in 1850. The cemetery is quiet, except for the sound of a shovel scraping through the earth. Someone’s digging,…
Exploding Manhole Covers: When the Streets Blew Up in the Early 1900s
In the early days of modern cities, when underground power lines, gas mains, and sewer systems tangled beneath the streets, manholes were both a marvel…
Inside San Quentin’s Gallows: A Chilling Look at How California Prepared for the Hangman’s Noose
Long before the condemned took their final walk, the gallows at San Quentin was already alive with grim precision. Every rope, beam, and bolt was…
Exploding Pants: A Brief History of Fiery Pockets and Foolhardy Explosions
Sometimes, when you go digging through old newspapers, you find stories so ridiculous you can’t help but wonder how humanity survived the early 20th century….
The Tipless Future: How Prohibition Was Expected to Replace Waiters with Machines (1919)
In 1919, as America braced for the arrival of Prohibition, some predicted that banning alcohol would bring more than dry bars and empty saloons. It…
7 Terrifying Reports of People Who Operated on Themselves
From amputations performed with pocketknives to appendectomies done on kitchen tables, the newspaper archives are filled with horrifying stories of people who took surgery into…
The History of March: The Month of Mars
March, once the first month of the year in the Roman calendar, is named for Mars, the powerful Roman god of war. As the season…
“Looney Gas”: The Poisoned Promise of Leaded Gasoline
In 1924, a group of workers at the Standard Oil refinery in Bayway, New Jersey, began to suffer bizarre and terrifying symptoms. They twitched uncontrollably,…
Eva Dugan’s Final Drop: The Hanging That Changed Arizona
In the dark early hours of February 21, 1930, Eva Dugan stepped onto the gallows at Arizona State Prison in Florence. Composed and defiant, she…
The History of February: The Month of Purification and Ancient Myths
February, though today known as the second month of the year, was originally the last month of the Roman calendar. Its name comes from the…
