Albert Cole of Cedar Rapids, Iowa was reported to be in critical condition on March 24, 1927.  His illness?  His entire body had turned a brilliant blue color.

Cole was the musical director of the Brandon Consolidated Schools but moonlighted as a shoe repairman in his spare time.  He had one of his assistants dye a pair of his oxfords blue and then proceeded to wear the shoes to school.

After walking some distance, Albert’s feet began to perspire and the blue dye started to run.  As the day went on, he began to suffer from an extreme headache.  And, upon returning home that evening, he immediately went to bed.  The next morning he awoke to find that his entire body had turned blue.

Doctors gave little hope for his recovery, but I was able to locate an article published eighteen months later on September 24, 1928, that mentioned Mr. Cole was “present and heard relative to the band situation.”  That means he either survived or his ghost took over in his absence.