Useless Information

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.

Click to Read More...

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.

Click to Read More...

Man Sells Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans (1937)

Published on April 25, 2023

Posted in: Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

Arthur Dean Lindsay not only sold the oceans, but he also claimed ownership of everything in the sky above him. And he had the legal documents to prove it.

Click to Read More...

Rocks Taste Good to Girl (1958)

Published on April 14, 2023

Posted in: Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

A ten-year-old girl was taken to the hospital because she had pneumonia. Doctors soon learned that she had swallowed 200 rocks.

Click to Read More...

1927: Every Kiss Takes 3 Minutes From Lovers’ Life Span (Footnote)

Published on February 17, 2023

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

Can kissing really shorten one's life? That's what students at Western State College concluded.

Click to Read More...

1962: Come On, Baby, Don’t Do the Twist! (Footnote)

Published on February 9, 2023

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

The American Medical Association warned that anyone who was over 40 should avoid doing the Twist, the latest dance craze.

Click to Read More...

1950 – Dentist Pulls Tooth, Patient Jumps Out Window (Footnote)

Published on January 31, 2023

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

James Wheatley had his tooth pulled and had a strange reaction to the anesthesia: he jumped out the window!

Click to Read More...

1938 – Fishing Trip Accidents Send Family to Hospital (Footnote)

Published on January 21, 2023

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

The Mowrar family should have never gone fishing. All went home with significant injuries to their right hands or arms.

Click to Read More...

1948 – New Pill Bans That Fear of Trip to Dentist (Footnote)

Published on August 22, 2022

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

Drs. Milton Levine and Robert Hoyt introduced a pill that would take the fear out of going to the dentist. It probably wasn't as safe as they originally thought.

Click to Read More...

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.

Click to Read More...

Footnote – 1949: 14 Tonsils Taken In Family Surgery

Published on February 22, 2022

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

Mr. & Mrs. Lester Backer decided to have the tonsils removed from all seven of their children at the same time...

Click to Read More...

Becomes Doctor after 45 Years

Published on January 7, 2022

Posted in: Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

They say it's never too late to pursue one's dreams. Find out why it took August S. Claus so long to get his medical degree.

Click to Read More...

Footnote – 1947: Lazy Man Makes Tough Job Simple

Published on October 8, 2021

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

Clarence E. Bleicher, president of the Chrysler Corp.'s De Soto division, told the US Senate's Labor Commission how he solves tough jobs at his plant.

Click to Read More...

Footnote – 1914: Speaking English Deforms the Mouth

Published on September 18, 2021

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

In 1914, Lord Ashbourne described to an audience how the speaking of English deformed the human jaw.

Click to Read More...

5 Records for Admittance to Dance

Published on July 21, 2021

Posted in: Forgotten History, Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

A dance being held at the Urban Room in the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh had an unusual admittance price: 5 phonograph records.

Click to Read More...

Language

Follow the Podcast

Over 6 Million Downloads!

Recent Podcast Episodes

Retrocast #20 – Podcast #204
September 20, 2023
Boxed for a Better Life – Podcast #203
September 11, 2023
Retrocast #19 – Podcast #202
August 15, 2023
Back Into the Woods – Podcast #201
August 2, 2023
Mississippi Bans Sesame Street – Podcast #200
July 17, 2023
Bonus Episode: I Am a Guest on the Off Exit 10 Podcast
July 5, 2023
Retrocast #18 – Podcast #199
June 21, 2023
The Kid Is Not My Son – Podcast #198
June 7, 2023
Dubious Advice – Podcast #197
May 18, 2023
Frasier, the Sensuous Lion – Podcast #196
May 3, 2023

╳