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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

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.

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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.

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1943: Males in Skirts Protest Against Slacks (Footnote)

Published on April 5, 2023

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

Just what happens when a group of young make college students decide to wear skirts?

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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?

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1967: Dead Elephant Her Valentine

Published on March 7, 2023

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Would you give a dead baby elephant to your significant other for Valentine's Day? Well, this Oregon man did...

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1957: Doctor’s Stained-Glass Struggle Against Daughter’s Marriage

Published on February 28, 2023

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

A man objects to his daughter's marriage to her high school teacher by hurling stones at St. Patrick's cathedral's stained-glass windows.

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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.

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1941: Launch Ship With Bananas

Published on February 7, 2023

Posted in: Tidbits

There was a shortage of lubricant that was needed to get the USS Fomalhaut out of dry dock. Could ripe bananas have been the solution?

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1934: Wife Snores in Morse Code

Published on February 2, 2023

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

Lloyd Copley claimed that his wife Leila snored in Morse code as an attempt to signal a lover outside of their home.

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1915 – That Must Have Been One Hungry Cat

Published on January 26, 2023

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Tidbits

A stray cat spotted its next meal sitting in a goldfish bowl on a table. The only thing in its way was a glass window...

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1920 – Christmas Cactus Theft Epidemic (Footnote)

Published on December 18, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Holidays & Celebrations, Tidbits

Was there really a Christmas cactus theft epidemic hitting Santa Ana, California back in 1920?

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1915 – Bank Accounts of 41,000 Schoolchildren Saved (Footnote)

Published on December 18, 2022

Posted in: Holidays & Celebrations, Money & Financial, Tidbits

When the Pittsburgh Bank for Savings abruptly closed its doors three days before Christmas, the deposits of 41,000 students were thought lost. One banker saved the accounts.

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1964 – Unable to Find Affordable Housing, Student Sleeps in Air Vent

Published on August 19, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Schools & Education, Tidbits

Allan Kornfeld was unable to afford student housing at Yale. So, he decided to move into a ventilation shaft.

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1954 – Smog Turns Necktie a Bluish Purple

Published on August 11, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

James Sharpless decided to wear a bright colored tie to his classes, only to find that the California smog had caused it to turn color.

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1922 – Dead Woman Sits Up in Coffin

Published on August 4, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Death and Murder, Tidbits

Everyone was certain that Rebacca Senst had died. That was until she sat up in her coffin...

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