For this final episode of the Futility Closet podcast we have eight new lateral thinking puzzles — play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Sears used to sell houses by mail. Many of Lewis Carroll's characters were suggested by fireplace tiles in his Oxford study . The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In some cases we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to t...
Nov 29, 2021•32 min•Ep. 365
One of the most remarkable pilots of World War II never fired a shot or dropped a bomb. With his pioneering aerial reconnaissance, Sidney Cotton made a vital contribution to Allied planning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his daring adventures in the war's early months. We'll also revisit our very first story and puzzle over an unknown Olympian. Intro: Hall's Law holds that a group's social class is reflected in its members' initials . In 1814 Richard Porson...
Nov 22, 2021•34 min•Ep. 364
In 1891, a mysterious figure appeared on the streets of London, dispensing pills to poor young women who then died in agony. Suspicion came to center on a Scottish-Canadian doctor with a dark past in North America. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the career of the Lambeth Poisoner, whose victims remain uncounted. We'll also consider a Hungarian Jules Verne and puzzle over an ambiguous sentence. Intro: How can an investor responsibly divest herself of stock in...
Nov 15, 2021•34 min•Ep. 363
In 1856, a mysterious man appeared on the roads of Connecticut and New York, dressed in leather, speaking to no one, and always on the move. He became famous for his circuits through the area, which he followed with remarkable regularity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Leatherman, whose real identity remains unknown. We'll also consider the orientation of churches and puzzle over some balky ponies. Intro: Western Poland contains a grove of 400 pine trees...
Oct 25, 2021•33 min•Ep. 362
In 1616, British officer Nathaniel Courthope was sent to a tiny island in the East Indies to contest a Dutch monopoly on nutmeg. He and his men would spend four years battling sickness, starvation, and enemy attacks to defend the island's bounty. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Courthope's stand and its surprising impact in world history. We'll also meet a Serbian hermit and puzzle over an unusual business strategy. Intro: Should orangutans be regarded as hum...
Oct 18, 2021•30 min•Ep. 361
In 1904, adventure novelist H. Rider Haggard awoke from a dream with the conviction that his daughter's dog was dying. He dismissed the impression as a nightmare, but the events that followed seemed to give it a grim significance. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Haggard's strange experience, which briefly made headlines around the world. We'll also consider Alexa's expectations and puzzle over a college's name change. Intro: Marshall Bean got himself drafted ...
Oct 11, 2021•31 min•Ep. 360
In 1945, a U.S. Army transport plane crashed in New Guinea, leaving three survivors marooned in the island's mountainous interior. Injured, starving, and exhausted, the group seemed beyond the hope of rescue. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the plight of the stranded survivors and the remarkable plan to save them. We'll also reflect on synthetic fingerprints and puzzle over a suspicious notebook. Intro: What's the shortest possible game of Monopoly if each pl...
Oct 04, 2021•30 min•Ep. 359
In 1917, a New Jersey company began hiring young women to paint luminous marks on the faces of watches and clocks. As time went on, they began to exhibit alarming symptoms, and a struggle ensued to establish the cause. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Radium Girls, a landmark case in labor safety. We'll also consider some resurrected yeast and puzzle over a posthumous journey. Intro: Joseph Underwood was posting phony appeals for money in 1833. Th...
Sep 13, 2021•31 min•Ep. 358
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is remembered for its destructive intensity and terrible death toll. But the scale of the disaster can mask some remarkable personal stories. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the experiences of some of the survivors, which ranged from the horrific to the surreal. We'll also consider a multilingual pun and puzzle over a deadly reptile. Intro: In the 1600s, a specialized verb described the carving of each dish . The Earls of ...
Sep 06, 2021•34 min•Ep. 357
The modern strawberry has a surprisingly dramatic story, involving a French spy in Chile, a perilous ocean voyage, and the unlikely meeting of two botanical expatriates. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the improbable origin of one of the world's most popular fruits. We'll also discuss the answers to some of our queries and puzzle over a radioactive engineer. Intro: Williston Fish bequeathed everything. Philip Cohen invented an English contraction with seven a...
Aug 30, 2021•30 min•Ep. 356
In 1864, two ships' crews were cast away at the same time on the same remote island in the Southern Ocean. But the two groups would undergo strikingly different experiences. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Auckland Islands castaways and reflect on its implications for the wider world. We'll also consider some fateful illnesses and puzzle over a street fighter's clothing. Intro: Lewis Carroll proposed fanciful logic problems. In 1946, a kangaroo m...
Aug 23, 2021•32 min•Ep. 355
In 1959, Marine pilot William Rankin parachuted from a malfunctioning jet into a violent thunderstorm. The ordeal that followed is almost unique in human experience. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Rankin's harrowing adventure, which has been called "the most prolonged and fantastic parachute descent in history." We'll also hear your thoughts on pronunciation and puzzle over mice and rice. Intro: How do mirrors "know" to reverse writing? Artist Alex Queral ca...
Aug 16, 2021•33 min•Ep. 354
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Lili McGrath's 1915 "floor polisher" is a pair of slippers connected by a cord . Eighteenth-century English landowners commissioned custom ruins . The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In some cases we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from lis...
Aug 09, 2021•32 min•Ep. 353
In 1850, England received a distinguished guest: A baby hippopotamus arrived at the London Zoo. Obaysch was an instant celebrity, attracting throngs of visitors while confounding his inexperienced keepers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe his long tenure at the zoo, more than 4,000 miles from his Egyptian home. We'll also remark on a disappearing signature and puzzle over a hazardous hand sign. Intro: In 1969 Rolling Stone invented a fake album with a real fan...
Jul 26, 2021•32 min•Ep. 352
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a novelist's ashes, some bathing fairies, the mists of Dartmoor, and a ballooning leopard. We'll also revisit the Somerton man and puzzle over an armed traveler. Intro: Amanda McKittrick Ros is widely considered the worst novelist of all time. John Cummings swallowed 30 knives. Sources for our notes and queries: The Pony Express ad is quoted in Christopher...
Jul 19, 2021•33 min•Ep. 351
In 1818, Army veteran John Cleves Symmes Jr. declared that the earth was hollow and proposed to lead an expedition to its interior. He promoted the theory in lectures and even won support on Capitol Hill. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Symmes' strange project and its surprising consequences. We'll also revisit age fraud in sports and puzzle over a curious customer. Intro: Grazing cattle align their bodies with magnetic north. The Conrad Cantzen Shoe Fund buy...
Jul 12, 2021•32 min•Ep. 350
In 1857 guests at Washington D.C.'s National Hotel began to come down with a mysterious illness. One of them was James Buchanan, who was preparing to assume the presidency of the United States. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the deadly outbreak and the many theories that were offered to explain it. We'll also contemplate timpani and puzzle over an Old West astronaut. Intro: The words overnervousnesses and overnumerousnesses are vertically compact . Harvard m...
Jul 05, 2021•32 min•Ep. 349
In 1918, German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen chased an inexperienced Canadian pilot out of a dogfight and up the Somme valley. It would be the last chase of his life. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the last moments of the Red Baron and the enduring controversy over who ended his career. We'll also consider some unwanted name changes and puzzle over an embarrassing Oscar speech. Intro: In the early 1970s, AI researcher James Meehan tried to teach a compu...
Jun 28, 2021•33 min•Ep. 348
In 1917, two young cousins carried a camera into an English dell and returned with a photo of fairies. When Arthur Conan Doyle took up the story it became a worldwide sensation. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Cottingley Fairies, a curiosity that would remain unexplained for most of the 20th century. We'll also remember a ferocious fire and puzzle over a troublesome gnome. Intro: Poet Harry Graham found "a simple plan / Which makes the lamest lyr...
Jun 21, 2021•30 min•Ep. 347
In 1898 a Belgian ship on a scientific expedition was frozen into the sea off the coast of Antarctica. During the long polar night, its 18 men would confront fear, death, illness, and despair. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe life aboard the Belgica during its long, dark southern winter. We'll also consider a devaluing signature and puzzle over some missing music. Intro: George S. Kaufman was uninterested in Eddie Fisher's dating problems. The Hatter and the M...
Jun 14, 2021•33 min•Ep. 346
In 1838, Frenchwoman Henriette d'Angeville set out to climb Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, against the advice of nearly everyone she knew. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow d'Angeville up the mountain to fulfill what she called "a monomania of the heart." We'll also escape Australia in a box and puzzle over a fixed game. Intro: In 1986, Florida bankruptcy judge A. Jay Cristol issued an order inspired by "a little old ebony bird." Puzzling poet S.R....
Jun 07, 2021•32 min•Ep. 345
For more than 40 years in the early 20th century, Martin Couney ran a sideshow in which premature babies were displayed in incubators. With this odd practice he offered a valuable service in an era when many hospitals couldn't. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Couney's unusual enterprise, which earned both criticism and praise. We'll also marvel over an Amazonian survival and puzzle over a pleasing refusal. Intro: The inventor of the Dewey Decimal System sugge...
May 24, 2021•30 min•Ep. 344
In April 1945, a group of American soldiers learned that hundreds of Lipizzaner horses were being held on a farm in western Czechoslovakia -- and set out to rescue them before the Red Army could reach them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Operation Cowboy, one of the strangest episodes of World War II. We'll also learn about an NBA brawl and puzzle over a technology's link to cancer deaths. Intro: What's wrong with these Martian census numbers? Japan...
May 17, 2021•31 min•Ep. 343
In 1844 New Orleans was riveted by a dramatic trial: A slave claimed that she was really a free immigrant who had been pressed into bondage as a young girl. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Sally Miller's fight for freedom, which challenged notions of race and social hierarchy in antebellum Louisiana. We'll also try to pronounce some drug names and puzzle over some cheated tram drivers. Intro: In 1992, a Florida bankruptcy judge held a computer in contempt of ...
May 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 342
In the 1890s, Waldemar Haffkine worked valiantly to develop vaccines against both cholera and bubonic plague. Then an unjust accusation derailed his career. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Haffkine's momentous work in India, which has been largely overlooked by history. We'll also consider some museum cats and puzzle over an endlessly energetic vehicle. Intro: The Galveston hurricane of 1915 carried 21,000-pound buoy 10 miles. Lillian Russell designed a porta...
May 03, 2021•31 min•Ep. 341
In 1938, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana vanished after taking a sudden sea journey. At first it was feared that he'd ended his life, but the perplexing circumstances left the truth uncertain. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the facts of Majorana's disappearance, its meaning for physics, and a surprising modern postscript. We'll also dither over pronunciation and puzzle over why it will take three days to catch a murderer. Intro: By design, no building in Was...
Apr 26, 2021•33 min•Ep. 340
In 1883, Missouri real estate broker James Reavis announced that he held title to a huge tract of land in the Arizona Territory. If certified, the claim would threaten the livelihoods of thousands of residents. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Baron of Arizona, one of the most audacious frauds in American history. We'll also scrutinize British statues and puzzle over some curious floor numbers. Intro: In 1891, Charles Dodgson wrote a curiously unf...
Apr 19, 2021•32 min•Ep. 339
One dark night in 1804, a London excise officer mistook a bricklayer for a ghost and shot him. This raised a difficult question: Was he guilty of murder? In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the case of the Hammersmith ghost, which has been called "one of the greatest curiosities in English criminal law." We'll also worry about British spiders and puzzle over some duplicative dog names. Intro: In 1850, an English doctor claimed to have given first aid to a pike. I...
Apr 05, 2021•30 min•Ep. 338
In 1901, two English academics met a succession of strange characters during a visit to Versailles. They came to believe that they had strayed somehow into the mind of Marie Antoinette in the year before her execution. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Moberly-Jourdain affair, a historical puzzle wrapped in a dream. We'll also revisit Christmas birthdays and puzzle over a presidential term. Intro: In 1936, Evelyn Waugh asked Laura Herbert whether "you could...
Mar 29, 2021•31 min•Ep. 337
In the 19th century, some New England communities grew so desperate to help victims of tuberculosis that they resorted to a macabre practice: digging up dead relatives and ritually burning their organs. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the causes of this bizarre belief and review some unsettling examples. We'll also consider some fighting cyclists and puzzle over Freddie Mercury's stamp. Intro: Residents of Sydney and London could take a train to the local necr...
Mar 22, 2021•33 min•Ep. 336
