Fascinating True Stories from the Flip Side of History
It was reported in the New York Times on May 21, 1967 that Dr. Orlo K. Jantz, a researcher at Michigan State University had stumbled upon a new way to control strawberry and picnic beetles. All that was needed was to set up traps baited with two colors of automobile paint.
In 1953 Harold Jesse Berney, head of a Washington, DC television antenna manufacturing operation, was chosen by the US government to be its main contact with Uccelles, a prince visiting our planet from Venus. If that sounds a bit bizarre, check out this story to learn about one of the most fantastic swindles ever conceived.
It was reported in the February 19, 1902 edition of the New York Times that 18-year-old Alfred De Chico walked into the Bedford Avenue police station in NYC claiming that 18-year-old Salvatore Carricato had shot him three times.
There’s that old saying that a sucker is born every minute. Take this story dated March 26th of 1952 from Wetumka, Oklahoma as an example.
On January 22nd of 1958 thieves in New York City stole a tractor trailer loaded with $22,000 worth of green coffee. (That would be about $175,000 today.) They drove the truck to another garage at 564 Carroll Street and unloaded the coffee. What they didn’t anticipate was that in removing all of that weight, the truck’s body would rise higher than the garage door through which it had entered.
Joe Bonavita was a Brooklyn tavern owner who went to the Bowery in 1946 to give away a big chunk of his hard-earned money to those less fortunate. Believing he was crazy, the men refused to take his handouts. But Joe wouldn’t take no for an answer…
One of the most bizarre stories that I have ever researched. The nearly unbelievable true story from 1946 about a New York City woman hired to investigate another woman suspected in a jewel heist. What happened next is truly unforgettable.
What would you do if you had forgotten your entire past? No idea about anything, not even what your name is. Learn about one man who suffered such a fate and how he ultimately found out who he really was.
Fun story from 1923. Newspapers around the United States reported daily on the health of the Fever Girl; a woman with the highest temperature ever recorded to that date. Would she live or die? Keep reading to find out more.
A fascinating story about two Baltimore boys that discovered a pile of gold coins in a basement back in 1934. In this case the pot of gold proved to be anything but lucky. Read this true story to learn why.
Every day for sixteen years, bus driver William Cimillo drove his passenger bus out of its garage in the Bronx. One morning he decided to make a left turn off of his usual route and ended up taking a ride that he would never forget.
Joseph Ellsworth Holmes was a career criminal serving a twenty year sentence for being the “dinner-time burglar”. His great escape in 1951 elevated him to celebrity status overnight.
A long-forgotten front page story from January of 1945 that involved the US military, the White House, a Hollywood actress, and one big dog.
Alexander Ector Orr Munsell was an incredibly wealthy man during the Great Depression. He seemed to have it all, until he suddenly gave it all away to live among the poor in a flophouse. Find out why he chose to do so and what happened after that.
It’s absolutely true: When the United States started Parcel Post service in 1913, both babies and small children were mailed. Read or listen to why it was done and how it came to an end.
