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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

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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Footnote – 1959: Guinea Pigs Stolen

Published on March 22, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History

Just who would steal four guinea pigs? A very odd robbery, although these guinea pigs were highly valued.

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Footnote – 1939: A Surprise In A Bottle

Published on February 16, 2022

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

Tom Gilroy can teach you an important lesson: Don't ever stick your finger on a bottle that has a wasp in it it!

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Footnote – 1949: Ontario Boy Given Snake by Museum

Published on December 21, 2021

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Holidays & Celebrations, Tidbits

A couple from Ontario drove 125 miles so that their son could purchase a snake, only to find out that the museum had none for sale. Would his heart be broken for Christmas?

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Mother Jailed for Cooking Woodpecker

Published on December 3, 2021

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Crime & Punishment, Law & Order, Tidbits

In 1914, a mother of two was arrested for cooking a woodpecker. Unable to pay the fine, she was sentenced to twenty days in jail.

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Footnote – 1899: 4 Cows Killed by Lightning

Published on August 18, 2021

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

In July 1899, farmer Charles Hulse had four of his cows killed at the same time by a bolt of lightning.

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Albino Kangaroo Given to the United States

Published on August 10, 2021

Posted in: Animals & Pets

In 1952, Australia gifted an Albino kangaroo to the United States. Just what would President Truman name her?

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Footnote – 1952: Parrot In Tree Cries ‘I Like Ike’

Published on August 10, 2021

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

In 1952, a parrot escaped from a London apartment and took to a tree outside of Parliament. It had been taught to say "I Like Ike."

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Footnote – 1949: Farmer Joe Solves Vacation Milking by Taking Cow Along

Published on August 7, 2021

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

Farmer Joe Trevethan was unable to take a vacation of twenty years because he needed to milk his cow. So, he took the cow with him.

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Leaves Estate to “Dumb Animals”

Published on June 19, 2021

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Money & Financial, Tidbits

When Eunice A. White died in 1949, she left what little she had for the care of dumb animals. Two family members got $1 each.

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Dog Choked by Fishing Line

Published on February 13, 2019

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Tidbits

April 5, 1921, a man brought his dog into the Animal Rescue League in DC to have his pet euthanized. It was being choked by a piece of fishing line.

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Cow Jumps Over the Moon

Published on June 16, 2018

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Bizarre & Oddities, Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly on February 18, 1930 when a tri-motored Ford airplane flew her to a height of 5,000 feet.

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Woman Befriends Rats

Published on June 8, 2018

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

A sanitary inspector in London visited the Platts Lane home of 80-year-old Rachel Willard after receiving numerous complaints from her neighbors. They had claimed that Mrs. Willard had not only been harboring rats in her garden but that she was also providing them with food.

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Eleuterio the Parrot

Published on February 15, 2017

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Forgotten History, Law & Order, Tidbits

Eleuterio the parrot was a national celebrity in Brazil. He was famous for his vulgarities and was nominated for city council.

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