Tag: New York
A Strange Reward From Long Island Sound
Some stories from the old newspapers are strange because they end in tragedy. Others are strange because they feel almost like little fairy tales printed…
Twenty Men Killed When 1,000 Pounds of Dynamite Exploded Too Soon
In the spring of 1909, a stone quarry near South Bethlehem, New York, was being prepared for a blast so powerful it was expected to…
The Night Black Tom Island Blew Up
At 2:15 on a July morning in 1916, New York Harbor erupted. A series of explosions tore through munitions cars, barges, and warehouses near the…
The Origin of Porter-House Steaks
Porter-house steak is a term most steak lovers are familiar with, but few may know about its distinctly American origins. The story goes back to…
Young woman upset after discovering her boyfriend is actually another young woman
From 1921, we find yet another article about a woman presenting as a man and courting another woman. In this case, as in many others,…
Father left daughter chained around the neck for days, kept key pocket
I’ve covered this topic before: children chained up like animals. It was certainly a major problem in the past, and one that we don’t hear…
Man plunges 5,000 feet from airplane to cure deafness, fails
Joseph Kling dreamed of joining the Army, but his deafness prevented his acceptance into such a career. In 1924, he decided to test out a…
Young woman defends herself with hatpin after strange man tries to kiss her
After hearing so many people say that hatpins were used for self-defense, I finally found a hatpin story in the wild. In truth, I wasn’t…
Crazy man kills two with an ax, survivor pleads for life
A long night is ahead of Miss Wilma de Bow. After waking up to the sound of an axe murderer killing her cousin, after begging…
Woman chops up husband so she can marry younger man
A woman murdered and chopped up her husband so she could marry a young man in Oswego County. Unfortunately, whoever buried the body parts did…
