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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

Footnote – 1935: Cake Still Good After 35 Years

Published on June 10, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Would you eat a 35-year-old piece of wedding cake? Frederika Weber did just that it was surprisingly still good.

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1943 – Sliced Bread Banned by the United States

Published on June 6, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

The U.S. government banned bakeries from slicing bread during WWII. Let's just say that things did not go as planned...

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Footnote – 1927: Fly Swatter Used To Lose Weight

Published on June 3, 2022

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

Springfield, MA was experiencing a big run on fly swatters because women were using them to swat away their excess weight.

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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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1930: Live Baby Auctioned Off

Published on March 1, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Hoaxes, Tidbits

Could a baby really be auctioned off? An ad by the Red Arrow Auctions claimed that they would be doing so at their next auction. Was there a catch?

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Dying Navy Officer’s Wish Fulfilled

Published on January 11, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

While Lieutenant Nathaniel M. Dial was dying, he asked that his class ring be given to his son. The ring was then lost. Years later, it was found.

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Sucked into Jet Engine

Published on January 4, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Escape and Survival, Tidbits

Can you imagine getting sucked into a jet engine? That happened to Al Richards in 1951 and he survived!

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Retrograph – 1961: Harry Crosby

Published on November 17, 2021

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities

Colorized image of Harry Crosby in the the signal cabin in Sallins, County Kildare, Ireland.

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Retrorewind – 1966: Transogram Swing Wing Toy

Published on November 15, 2021

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities

The Swing Wing was supposed to be Transogram's answer to the Hula Hoop. It wasn't...

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Footnote – 1940: ‘Perfect Host’ Gets Prison Term

Published on November 2, 2021

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities

In 1940, Wayman G. Woody was arrested for robbing the homes of friends while his wife entertained them at dinner.

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Footnote – 1952: Dammed Missouri Valley Book Disappears in Flood

Published on October 12, 2021

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Footnotes to History, Humor, Tidbits

A patron was unable to return the book The Dammed Missouri Valley to his local library because the river had taken it away in a flood.

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A Woman Had Some Run-Ins With Modern Appliances (1957)

Published on October 5, 2021

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

Firemen had to be called to get Virginia Schoen's hands out of her garbage disposal. They later returned to get her toe out of her refrigerator door.

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Footnote – 1928: Husband Refuses to Buy His Wife False Teeth

Published on September 24, 2021

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Footnotes to History, Law & Order, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

In 1928, Mathias Blau was in a Chicago courtroom because he had his wife's teeth pulled and refused to purchase dentures for her.

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Footnote – 1957: Helicopter Melon Thief

Published on September 12, 2021

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

In June 1957, a helicopter landed in a Brawley, California watermelon patch and stole three melons before taking off again.

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Footnote – 1952: 200 Hog Calling Records Stolen

Published on September 7, 2021

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

Just what would anyone do with 200 stolen hog calling phonograph records?

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