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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

1943: Horn Honks If Cab Exceeds 35 MPH (Footnote)

Published on July 20, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Science, Technology & Medicine

A solution to speeding taxicabs: exceed the 35-mph speed limit and the horn would blow all the way back to the garage. And wake up the entire neighborhood at the same time.

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1959: Baby Slides Down Coal Chute and Falls Into River (Footnote)

Published on July 14, 2023

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Escape and Survival, Footnotes to History

A boy slides down a coal shoot and then ends up in the river. It was the ride of a lifetime!

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1938: Deer Stabs Man and Evens Score (Footnote)

Published on July 12, 2023

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Bizarre & Oddities, Escape and Survival, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Albert Christianson was out hunting near his home and shot a buck. Next thing you know, a deer stabbed him with a knife...

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1920: Message in a Bottle Found Near Seattle (Footnote)

Published on July 5, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Miscellaneous, Tidbits, Unbelievable

Just how did a message sent in a bottle from Kansas end up floating in a canal near Seattle, Washington?

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1906: Dress Made of Postage Stamps (Footnote)

Published on June 28, 2023

Posted in: Fashion & Design, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Over 30,000 stamps were used to make a woman's dress in Bermuda in 1906. Sounds like one big sticky mess...

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1953: Daughter’s In It But Chair Rocks Ma (Footnote)

Published on May 12, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Somehow, 16-month-old Jackie Cornecelli managed to get stuck in her rocking chair. Her mom was unable to free her.

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1949: Nose Knows A Good Thing (Footnote)

Published on May 10, 2023

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Footnotes to History, Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

John D. Bidegain lost his nose and was challenged by a manager to make a new one. And that was exactly what he did.

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1943: Boy’s Court Plea Wins Suit And A New Home (Footnote)

Published on May 8, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Law & Order, Tidbits

A 10-year-old Detroit boy convinced a judge to throw out his family's eviction order. They were given a new home instead.

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1937: Miss Stumpf to Become Bride of Mr. Zumpft (Footnote)

Published on April 28, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Alida Stumpf didn't have to change her last name by much when she married Frederick Zumpft in 1937.

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1922: Bluff Called, May Have to Devour a Million Peas (Footnote)

Published on April 23, 2023

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

A bet was made and the loser would have to eat 1,000,000 peas. Just how much space does a million peas take up?

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1957: Color-Blind Plumber Gums Up The Works (Footnote)

Published on April 16, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History

A plumber in Oroville, CA was colorblind and installed different pastel-colored fixtures in bathrooms.

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1954: Duck Has Mental Problem—Thinks He Is A Bow Wow (Footnote)

Published on April 10, 2023

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History

George Dugan was a duck. But George had one unusual problem: he thought that he was a dog. At least he acted that way...

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1935: Missing Arm To Be Buried Again, Deep (Footnote)

Published on April 1, 2023

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Footnotes to History

A man's arm was found in the Alturas, CA city dump. Was this evidence of a murder?

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1927: Food Is Literally ‘Shot From Guns’ (Footnote)

Published on March 31, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History

In an unusual promotion, the Quaker Oats Co. drove a vehicle through Racine, Wisconsin shooting Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice from a cannon.

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1964: Woman Anonymously Mails Boyfriend $500 (Footnote)

Published on March 14, 2023

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Love & Marriage

A 19-year-old had the brilliant idea of mailing her boyfriend $500, thinking he would use it to marry her. It did not go as planned...

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