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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the WWW Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

Myron Grombacher Got A Wig Instead (1970)

Published on December 12, 2025

Posted in: Fraud & Deception, Schools & Education, Tidbits

Drummer Myron Grombacher came up with a very unique solution to his high school's ban on long hair. It allowed him to keep his long hair yet be permitted to attend school.

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Man Mails $1 to 500 People (1946)

Published on December 9, 2025

Posted in: Money & Financial, Tidbits

A Chicago man mailed dollar bills to 500 random people with a simple request: mail the dollar back to him. Just why would he do such a thing?

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Wife May Pick Husband’s Pockets (1912)

Published on December 5, 2025

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

Is it legal for a wife to pickpocket her husband's wallet while he slept. A 1912 Philadelphia court case helped to settle that question.

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A Very Heavy Hobby (1975)

Published on October 31, 2025

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

A man moved out of his apartment and left behind many tons of rocks. No one saw him bring the rocks into the apartment, but now they were tasked with removing them.

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One Is Never Too Old (1938)

Published on October 28, 2025

Posted in: Tidbits

A former slave learns to read and write. But just how old is too old to learn?

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Let My Home Burn Down! (1925)

Published on October 24, 2025

Posted in: Tidbits

It's hard to believe, but a Pennsylvania fire department stood back and watched as a man's home and business burned to the ground.

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Family Sues Over Son’s Gigantism (1948)

Published on August 29, 2025

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Law & Order, Tidbits

The parents of a 13-year-old bot sued a milk dairy because their son had grown too tall for his age. Would the jury decide in their favor?

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Boy Hires Abbott and Costello for 70 Cents (1942)

Published on August 26, 2025

Posted in: Entertainment, Tidbits

A 12-year-old boy asked Abbott and Costello to perform at a vaudeville show that he was putting on in his widowed mother's backyard. They reluctantly agreed to do it, but would they show up?

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A Long Walk Across America (1923)

Published on August 22, 2025

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

A man walked into the New York Times offices and asked them to provide proof that he was really there. Just why would he walk across America to do so?

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A Playful Feud with the Cable Company (1977)

Published on July 22, 2025

Posted in: Humor, Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

A man in Vacaville, California preferred to pay his monthly cable bills quarterly. He didn't like the constant reminders that the company kept sending him for his unpaid bills, which started a friendly feud with them.

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Do Men or Women Get the Last Laugh? (1977)

Published on July 17, 2025

Posted in: Humor, Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

A 1977 University of Wisconsin study took a look at whether jokes that made fun of men or women were funnier.

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The Great Rattlesnake Trap (1927)

Published on July 15, 2025

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

A Bowman, California rancher thought that he had invented the ultimate rattlesnake trap. That was until the snakes outsmarted him...

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Police Get the Wrong Masked Man (1965)

Published on May 29, 2025

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Law & Order, Money & Financial, Tidbits

Massachusetts State Police were on the lookout for two men who supposedly robbed a bank in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The two men they arrested were innocent. The only crime committed was that one of the men wore a surgical mask.

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Ice Nickels (1938)

Published on May 27, 2025

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Fraud & Deception, Money & Financial, Tidbits

Students at Stanford University came up with a unique way to avoid paying for phone calls. Ingenious? Yes. Legal? Probably not.

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Beware of Blue Eyes (1921)

Published on May 23, 2025

Posted in: Science, Technology & Medicine, Tidbits

In 1921, a strange fear of blue-eyed people was spreading. Experts linked blue eyes to restlessness and trouble. In England, it was observed that 90% of runaway husbands had blue eyes, while it was thought that blue-eyed people needed to move toward higher latitudes.

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