Useless Information - Fascinating True Stories from the Flip Side of History

Useless Information

Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

Henry Ford’s Peace Ship – Podcast #172

Published on May 16, 2022

Posted in: Forgotten History, Podcast

Latest episode! In 1915, Henry Ford sought to end WWI by chartering a ship and sailing with many of the prominent peace activists of the day to Europe. Find out what happened next...

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Arbor Day Turns 150! – Podcast #171

Published on April 28, 2022

Posted in: Holidays & Celebrations, Podcast

Arbor Day is 150 years old! Learn the origins of the day, plus how one small upstate New York town continues the annual celebration.

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Retrocast #9 – Podcast #170

Published on April 13, 2022

Posted in: Podcast, Retrocasts

A woman dumps her fiancé at the altar to marry the minister, a jealous husband who used rattlesnakes to keep men away from his wife, and much more!

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Footnote – 1950: Dog Saves Lives of 60 Men College Students

Published on May 10, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Death and Murder, Escape and Survival, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

The lives of 60 dormitory residents were endangered by carbon monoxide poisoning. A pooch named Piedmont was credited with saving their lives.

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Footnote – 1949: Nimrod Gives Bizarre Excuse

Published on May 6, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Crime & Punishment, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Can you tell the difference between a deer and a groundhog? These two hunters in Maryland apparently could not.

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Footnote – 1935: Tarantula in Britches

Published on May 3, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

A Montgomery, AL officer had to deal with an erratic banana truck driver who had a tarantula in his pants!

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Footnote – 1934: Cat Becomes Flaming Torch

Published on April 29, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Just how much damage can a flaming cat do to a home? Mrs. Victor Barbaglia of Vineland, NJ witnessed what could happen.

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Footnote – 1911: Jealous Husband Guards Wife With Rattlesnakes

Published on April 26, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

James Stoner used rattlesnakes to keep other men away from his wife. His attempts to do so backfired on him.

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1942: Pigeons Sabotage Tires

Published on April 22, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Tidbits

It was a strange crime: Nails kept appearing in the alley behind a Woolworth store in Minneapolis. The criminals may have been the birds.

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1931: Mistaken Identity Finally Ends

Published on April 19, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

The story of two women who lived on the same street, attended the same high school, and had similar names that were pronounced identically.

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1921: Bride Dumps Groom for Minister

Published on April 15, 2022

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

A Birmingham, Alabama woman dumped her fiancé at the alter after she confessed her love for the minister who was to marry the couple.

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Vintage Ad – 1956: Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight

Published on April 7, 2022

Posted in: Transportation

Vintage ad for Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight that appeared on page 14 of the April 22, 1956, publication of This Week magazine.

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Retrograph – 1906: Miles Bros. Moving Pictures

Published on April 6, 2022

Posted in: Retrographs

Colorized photograph of the Miles Brothers Moving Pictures exchange in San Francisco, just prior to the 1906 earthquake.

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Vintage Ad – 1909: Peterman’s Roach Food

Published on April 5, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets

Vintage ad for Peterman's Roach Food that appeared in the Ladies Home Journal in July 1909 on page 48.

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RetroRewind – 1912: Real Titanic Footage

Published on April 4, 2022

Posted in: RetroRewind Videos

Actual footage of the Titanic leaving Belfast on April 2, 1912. Includes footage of the Carpathia and some of those who were rescued.

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Recent Podcast Episodes

Henry Ford’s Peace Ship – Podcast #172
May 16, 2022
Arbor Day Turns 150! – Podcast #171
April 28, 2022
Retrocast #9 – Podcast #170
April 13, 2022
The Father of Voice Radio – Reginald Fessenden – Podcast #169
March 31, 2022
The Case of the Hollow Nickel – Podcast #168
March 15, 2022
Retrocast #8 – Podcast #167
February 28, 2022
The Eddie Cantor Peace Prize – Podcast #166
February 15, 2022
Retrocast #7 – Podcast #165
January 31, 2022
The Glass House Girl – Podcast #164
January 13, 2022
Bad Apples #3 – Sunset Boulevard – Podcast #163
January 3, 2022