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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

1943 – Sliced Bread Banned by the United States

Published on June 6, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

The U.S. government banned bakeries from slicing bread during WWII. Let's just say that things did not go as planned...

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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.

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Footnote – 1950: Dog Saves Lives of 60 Men College Students

Published on May 10, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Death and Murder, Escape and Survival, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

The lives of 60 dormitory residents were endangered by carbon monoxide poisoning. A pooch named Piedmont was credited with saving their lives.

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Footnote – 1949: Nimrod Gives Bizarre Excuse

Published on May 6, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Crime & Punishment, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Can you tell the difference between a deer and a groundhog? These two hunters in Maryland apparently could not.

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Footnote – 1935: Tarantula in Britches

Published on May 3, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

A Montgomery, AL officer had to deal with an erratic banana truck driver who had a tarantula in his pants!

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Footnote – 1934: Cat Becomes Flaming Torch

Published on April 29, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Just how much damage can a flaming cat do to a home? Mrs. Victor Barbaglia of Vineland, NJ witnessed what could happen.

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Footnote – 1911: Jealous Husband Guards Wife With Rattlesnakes

Published on April 26, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Footnotes to History, Tidbits

James Stoner used rattlesnakes to keep other men away from his wife. His attempts to do so backfired on him.

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1942: Pigeons Sabotage Tires

Published on April 22, 2022

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Tidbits

It was a strange crime: Nails kept appearing in the alley behind a Woolworth store in Minneapolis. The criminals may have been the birds.

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1931: Mistaken Identity Finally Ends

Published on April 19, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Tidbits

The story of two women who lived on the same street, attended the same high school, and had similar names that were pronounced identically.

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1921: Bride Dumps Groom for Minister

Published on April 15, 2022

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

A Birmingham, Alabama woman dumped her fiancé at the alter after she confessed her love for the minister who was to marry the couple.

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1960 – Custer’s Roaring Last Stand

Published on April 1, 2022

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Tidbits

Wheeling, West Virginia dog warden William Custer came up with the perfect solution to scare off intruders: he used his pet lion to guard the pound.

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1964: A Painful Mourning

Published on March 29, 2022

Posted in: Death and Murder, Tidbits

Twenty-two people died after eating koliva, a traditional dish in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Clearly, something was wrong with the koliva...

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1936: A Human Target

Published on March 8, 2022

Posted in: Tidbits

Doreen Peterson Hamby took a job as the human target for a knife thrower. he accidentally hit her in the leg.

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1930: Live Baby Auctioned Off

Published on March 1, 2022

Posted in: Bizarre & Oddities, Hoaxes, Tidbits

Could a baby really be auctioned off? An ad by the Red Arrow Auctions claimed that they would be doing so at their next auction. Was there a catch?

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Footnote – 1950: Pitcher Falls Off Bench

Published on February 25, 2022

Posted in: Footnotes to History, Tidbits

Jack Bruner injured his elbow while seated in the bullpen at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

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