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.Click to Read More...
A Little Boy’s Revenge (1953) Published on April 21, 2023 Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Hoaxes, Law & Order, Tidbits Three boys at PS 90 in Manhattan were witness to the murder of one of their classmates. Police were called and began a search for the body...Click to Read More...
Hand Shaking for Civic Pride (1936) Published on April 7, 2023 Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Law & Order, Tidbits As sirens blast in unison around the world, everyone turns to the person near them and shakes hands. Would this result in world peace? Roscoe E. Dickson certainly thought so.Click to Read More...
The Broken Record: A Search for Lost Treasure (1911) Published on April 4, 2023 Posted in: Death and Murder, Law & Order, Money & Financial, Tidbits Just what happens when a man records the location of a buried treasure on a phonograph record and the record shatters before anyone listens to it?Click to Read More...
A Severed Relationship – Podcast #192 Published on March 6, 2023 Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Law & Order, Love & Marriage, Podcast Ouch!!! The ghastly true story of Bertha Boronda who, in 1907, took a straight razor and sliced off her husband Frank’s penis. Did he survive?Click to Read More...
1904: The Match Head Man: A Strange Tale of Addiction Published on February 21, 2023 Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Law & Order, Love & Marriage, Tidbits A woman complains that her husband has been eating match heads since their honeymoon and wants to know what can be done about it.Click to Read More...
The Cryptanalyst (Part 2) – Podcast #183 Published on November 3, 2022 Posted in: Fraud & Deception, Law & Order, Podcast In this second installment, 93-year-old Marvin Lautzenheiser discusses his time as an FBI field agent, how his team finally deciphered the hollow nickel message, and offers up his opinion on the Steven Spielberg movie Bridge of Spies.Click to Read More...
The Cryptanalyst (Part 1) – Podcast #182 Published on October 21, 2022 Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Law & Order, Podcast An interview with 93-year-old Marvin Lautzenheiser, who was the lead cryptanalyst for the FBI team that deciphered the microfilm message contained in the Hollow Nickel (Podcast #168).Click to Read More...
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.Click to Read More...
1949 – Theater Popcorn Ban Proposed Published on June 13, 2022 Posted in: Law & Order, Tidbits A bill was introduced in the Oregon State Senate that called for the banning of popcorn and peanuts in movie theaters. Click to Read More...
The Case of the Hollow Nickel – Podcast #168 Published on March 15, 2022 Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Law & Order, Podcast In 1953, paperboy Jimmy Bozart was counting his subscription money. He dropped the coins and one nickel split open, revealing a piece of microfilm. This led to the arrest of a high-ranking Soviet spy. Click to Read More...
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.Click to Read More...
Proud Father Kidnaps Baby Published on November 23, 2021 Posted in: Law & Order, Love & Marriage, Tidbits On February 22, 1911, staff at the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital in Brooklyn, NY frantically searched for newborn Evelyn Erickson.Click to Read More...
The Forgotten Man – Archibald Herron – Podcast #159 Published on October 28, 2021 Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Death and Murder, Law & Order, Podcast A New Jersey man was caught in a Catch-22 situation: As long as he remained on death row, he could live. If he attempted to get off of death row by challenging his sentence in court, he would likely die. Can you guess which option he chose?Click to Read More...
Don’t Mess With Minerva Miller – Podcast #157 Published on September 29, 2021 Posted in: Forgotten History, Law & Order, Podcast In 1911, Mrs. Minerva Miller went to The Paterson Show in Paterson, NJ to watch a movie. A standard ticket cost 5 cents, but Mrs. Miller was told that she would have to pay 25 cents because she was black. She decided to challenge the theater's racist policy.Click to Read More...