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

Retrocast #12 – Podcast #177

Published on August 1, 2022

Posted in: Podcast, Retrocasts

Latest episode! A man elopes with another man's wife and blames it on her cake, a dead woman sits up in her coffin, smog changes the color of a California man’s tie, and much more! Tim Harford of Cautionary Tales cohosts.

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The Rise & Fall of the Celestial Comet – Podcast #176

Published on July 19, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Hoaxes, Podcast

In 1941, the Plainfield Teachers College football team was unstoppable. That was until a reporter exposed a shocking secret about the team and their storybook season was brought to a grinding halt.

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Retrocast #11 – Podcast #175

Published on June 30, 2022

Posted in: Podcast, Retrocasts

A mystery man speaks an unknown language, a boy gets his head stuck in a toilet seat, a woman slips on a bar of soap and then flies out the window, and much more! Madison Newton cohosts.

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Almost Over the Hump – Podcast #174

Published on June 20, 2022

Posted in: Escape and Survival, Podcast

Just what happens when your airplane crashes high up in the Himalayan mountains and there is no chance that anyone will ever find you? This happened to two pilots during WW II as they attempted to pilot a cargo plane over “The Hump.”

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1954 – Smog Turns Necktie a Bluish Purple

Published on August 11, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

James Sharpless decided to wear a bright colored tie to his classes, only to find that the California smog had caused it to turn color.

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1885: The Cake Bewitched Him (Footnote)

Published on August 8, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Crime & Punishment, Footnotes to History, Love & Marriage

A man elopes with another man's wife and is arrested. He blames it on her delicious cake!

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1922 – Dead Woman Sits Up in Coffin

Published on August 4, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Death and Murder, Tidbits

Everyone was certain that Rebacca Senst had died. That was until she sat up in her coffin...

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1950 – Dogs Shoot Owners (Footnote)

Published on July 29, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Bizarre & Oddities, Footnotes to History

It's rare that a dog shoots its owner. Yet, it happened twice in one month in Olney, Texas.

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1949 – Little Boy Finds Toilet Seat Not Quite His Size (Footnote)

Published on July 25, 2022

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Humor

Phillip Burrows decided to try his junior toilet seat on for size. He slipped his head through the opening and then got stuck.

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1946 – Baby Delivered Between Floors (Footnote)

Published on July 22, 2022

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Love & Marriage

No one ever wants to get stuck in an elevator, especially while giving birth. That happened to a Chattanooga woman...

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1957 – Ottawa Newspaper Finds Pet Parakeet

Published on July 18, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

When Mrs. Ann Recoskie lost her pet parakeet Joey, she called the Ottawa Journal to place a Lost Pet ad. They had some good news for her.

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1934 – Skids Out Window on Soap, Falls Into Sand (Footnote)

Published on July 13, 2022

Posted in: Escape and Survival, Footnotes to History

It really is possible to slip on a bar of soap. And Mrs. Beulah Hopkins went right out the window after doing so.

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1927 – Unidentified Body Found by Hartford Police

Published on July 11, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Crime & Punishment, Death and Murder, Tidbits

A man told police that he had witnessed someone being murdered. Investigators raced to the scene, saw the blood, and then discovered a very unusual corpse.

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1926: Falls 50 Feet, Only Suffers Bruises (Footnote)

Published on July 8, 2022

Posted in: Escape and Survival, Footnotes to History

16-year-old William Lyle fell into the Niagara Gorge. He was lucky to be alive.

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1925 – Mystery Man Speaks an Unknown Language

Published on July 5, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

A man showed up in Cape Charles, VA speaking a language that no one could understand. Immigration officials came up with a novel way to find someone who could speak to him.

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Footnote – 1956: Driver Grabs At Bird, Hits New Police Car

Published on June 27, 2022

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Law & Order

A parakeet was blamed for a car accident that destroyed a brand-new police car.

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Recent Podcast Episodes

Retrocast #12 – Podcast #177
August 1, 2022
The Rise & Fall of the Celestial Comet – Podcast #176
July 19, 2022
Retrocast #11 – Podcast #175
June 30, 2022
Almost Over the Hump – Podcast #174
June 20, 2022
Retrocast #10 – Podcast #173
June 1, 2022
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

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