In 1824 the viceroy of Egypt sent a unique gift to the new king of France: a two-month-old giraffe that had just been captured in the highlands of Sudan. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the 4,000-mile journey of Zarafa, the royal giraffe, from her African homeland to the king's menagerie in Paris. We'll also visit Queen Victoria's coronation and puzzle over a child's surprising recovery. Intro: In 1952 a stray cat made a home in Classroom 8 of a California elem...
May 29, 2017•33 min•Ep. 155
The worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century struck Martinique in 1902, killing 30,000 people in the scenic town of Saint-Pierre. But rescuers found one man alive -- a 27-year-old laborer in a dungeon-like jail cell. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Ludger Sylbaris, who P.T. Barnum called "The Only Living Object That Survived in the Silent City of Death." We'll also address some Indian uncles and puzzle over a gruesome hike. Intro: The French newspaper La Bougi...
May 22, 2017•30 min•Ep. 154
Between 1838 and 1841, an enterprising London teenager broke repeatedly into Buckingham Palace, sitting on the throne, eating from the kitchen, and posing a bewildering nuisance to Queen Victoria's courtiers, who couldn't seem to keep him out. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the exploits of Edward Jones -- and the severe measures that were finally taken to stop them. We'll also salute some confusing flags and puzzle over an extraterrestrial musician. Intro: T...
May 15, 2017•32 min•Ep. 153
Here are five new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Here are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a couple of places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 was contributed by listener Dave Lawrence. Puzzle #2 is from listener Michael Berman. Puzzle #3 is from Paul Sloane ...
May 01, 2017•30 min•Ep. 152
In 1941, Catalonian chicken farmer Juan Pujol made an unlikely leap into the world of international espionage, becoming a spy first for the Germans, then for the British, and rising to become one of the greatest double agents of World War II. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Pujol's astonishing talent for deceiving the Nazis, which led one colleague to call him "the best actor in the world." We'll also contemplate a floating Chicago and puzzle over a winding w...
Apr 24, 2017•31 min•Ep. 151
In 1821, Scottish adventurer Gregor MacGregor undertook one of the most brazen scams in history: He invented a fictional Central American republic and convinced hundreds of his countrymen to invest in its development. Worse, he persuaded 250 people to set sail for this imagined utopia with dreams of starting a new life. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the disastrous results of MacGregor's deceit. We'll also illuminate a hermit's behavior and puzzle over Liech...
Apr 17, 2017•30 min•Ep. 150
Without any forethought or preparation, Christopher Knight walked into the Maine woods in 1986 and lived there in complete solitude for the next 27 years, subsisting on what he was able to steal from local cabins. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the North Pond hermit, one man's attempt to divorce himself completely from civilization. We'll also look for coded messages in crosswords and puzzle over an ineffective snake. Intro: Disneyland's Matterhorn ...
Apr 10, 2017•30 min•Ep. 149
Insurance agent William Herbert Wallace had a terrible night in January 1931 -- summoned to a nonexistent address in Liverpool, he returned home to find that his wife had been murdered in his absence. An investigation seemed to show a senseless crime with no weapon, no motive, and no likely suspects. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll revisit the slaying of Julia Wallace, which Raymond Chandler called "the impossible murder." We'll also recount some wobbly oaths and puzz...
Apr 03, 2017•30 min•Ep. 148
Stuck in an East African prison camp in 1943, Italian POW Felice Benuzzi needed a challenge to regain his sense of purpose. He made a plan that seemed crazy -- to break out of the camp, climb Mount Kenya, and break back in. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Benuzzi and two companions as they try to climb the second-highest mountain in Africa using homemade equipment. We'll also consider whether mirages may have doomed the Titanic and puzzle over an ineffective oa...
Mar 27, 2017•30 min•Ep. 147
In 1913 outdoorsman Joseph Knowles pledged to spend two months in the woods of northern Maine, naked and alone, fending for himself "without the slightest communication or aid from the outside world." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Knowles' adventures in the woods and the controversy that followed his return to civilization. We'll also consider the roots of nostalgia and puzzle over some busy brothers. Intro: In 1972, a French physicist discovered a natural ur...
Mar 20, 2017•30 min•Ep. 146
Guy Gabaldon was an untested Marine when he landed on the Pacific island of Saipan during World War II. But he decided to fight the war on his own terms, venturing alone into enemy territory and trying to convince Japanese soldiers to surrender voluntarily. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Gabaldon's dangerous crusade and learn its surprising results. We'll also examine Wonder Woman's erotic origins and puzzle over an elusive murderer. Intro: In 1955 Dodge intro...
Mar 13, 2017•32 min•Ep. 145
When detectives explored the Chicago hotel owned by insurance fraudster H.H. Holmes in 1894, they found a nightmarish warren of blind passageways, trapdoors, hidden chutes, and asphyxiation chambers in which Holmes had killed dozens or perhaps even hundreds of victims. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the career of America's first documented serial killer, who headlines called "a fiend in human shape." We'll also gape at some fireworks explosions and puzzle over...
Mar 06, 2017•32 min•Ep. 144
For 200 years the U.S. Treasury has maintained a "conscience fund" that accepts repayments from people who have defrauded or stolen from the government. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the history of the fund and some of the more memorable and puzzling contributions it's received over the years. We'll also ponder Audrey Hepburn's role in World War II and puzzle over an illness cured by climbing poles. Intro: Wisconsin banker John Krubsack grafted 32 box elder...
Feb 27, 2017•32 min•Ep. 143
Fingerprint identification and lie detectors are well-known tools of law enforcement today, but both were quite revolutionary when they were introduced. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the memorable cases where these innovations were first used. We'll also see some phantom ships and puzzle over a beer company's second thoughts. Intro: In 1892, Bostonians realized that the architects of their new library had hidden their name in the façade . In 1918, a Califor...
Feb 20, 2017•31 min•Ep. 142
In 1836, Indians abducted a 9-year-old girl from her home in East Texas. She made a new life among the Comanche, with a husband and three children. Then, after 24 years, the whites abducted her back again. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, caught up in a war between two societies. We'll also analyze a forger's motives and puzzle over why a crowd won't help a dying woman. Intro: Mathematician Ernst Straus invented a shape in which a ...
Feb 13, 2017•33 min•Ep. 141
In 1913, English mathematician G.H. Hardy received a package from an unknown accounting clerk in India, with nine pages of mathematical results that he found "scarcely possible to believe." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow the unlikely friendship that sprang up between Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan, whom Hardy called "the most romantic figure in the recent history of mathematics." We'll also probe Carson McCullers' heart and puzzle over a well-proportioned ampu...
Feb 06, 2017•30 min•Ep. 140
When critics dismissed his paintings, Dutch artist Han van Meegeren decided to seek his revenge on the art world: He devoted himself to forgery and spent six years fabricating a Vermeer masterpiece. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll recount the career of a master forger and the surprising mistake that eventually brought him down. We'll also drop in on D.B. Cooper and puzzle over an eyeless fruit burglar. Intro: In 1976, the New York Times accidentally dated an issue "M...
Jan 30, 2017•31 min•Ep. 139
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell two stories about people who spent years confined in miserably small spaces. North Carolina slave Harriet Jacobs spent seven years hiding in a narrow space under her grandmother's roof, evading her abusive owner, and Irishman Patrick Fowler spent most of World War I hiding in the cabinet of a sympathetic family in German-occupied France. We'll also subdivide Scotland and puzzle over a ballerina's silent reception. Intro: During a p...
Jan 23, 2017•34 min•Ep. 138
When the Scottish writer William Sharp died in 1905, his wife revealed a surprising secret: For 10 years he had kept up a second career as a reclusive novelist named Fiona Macleod, carrying on correspondences and writing works in two distinctly different styles. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore Sharp's curious relationship with his feminine alter ego, whose sporadic appearances perplexed even him. We'll also hunt tigers in Singapore and puzzle over a surprising...
Jan 16, 2017•34 min•Ep. 137
In 1919 a bizarre catastrophe struck Boston's North End: A giant storage tank failed, releasing 2 million gallons of molasses into a crowded business district at the height of a January workday. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Boston Molasses Disaster, which claimed 21 lives and inscribed a sticky page into the city's history books. We'll also admire some Scandinavian statistics and puzzle over a provocative Facebook photo. Intro: In 1888 three w...
Jan 09, 2017•32 min•Ep. 136
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Below are the sources for this week's puzzles. In a few places 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 Dan Lewis' Now I Know newsletter of April 28, 2016. Puzzle #2 was contributed by listener Jon Sweitzer-Lamme, who ...
Dec 26, 2016•35 min•Ep. 135
In December 1914 a remarkable thing happened on the Western Front: British and German soldiers stopped fighting and left their trenches to greet one another, exchange souvenirs, bury their dead, and sing carols in the spirit of the holiday season. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Christmas truce, which one participant called "one of the highlights of my life." We'll also remember James Thurber's Aunt Sarah and puzzle over an anachronistic twin. In...
Dec 19, 2016•31 min•Ep. 134
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some more curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a pilot who saved Buckingham Palace, a ghost who confronted Arthur Conan Doyle, what Mark Twain learned from a palm reader, and a bedeviling superfluity of Norwegians. We'll also discover a language used only by women and puzzle over a gift that's best given sparingly. Intro: Horatio Nelson's coffin was fashioned from the mast of a French flagship tha...
Dec 12, 2016•33 min•Ep. 133
In 1944, a bizarre criminal assaulted the small town of Mattoon, Illinois. Victims reported smelling a sickly sweet odor in their bedrooms before being overcome with nausea and a feeling of paralysis. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll pursue the mad gasser of Mattoon, who vanished as quickly as he had struck, leaving residents to wonder whether he had ever existed at all. We'll also ponder the concept of identical cousins and puzzle over a midnight stabbing. Intro: Ente...
Dec 05, 2016•32 min•Ep. 132
Libby Prison was one of the most infamous prison camps of the Civil War -- thousands of Union prisoners were packed together in a converted warehouse, facing months or years of starvation and abuse. The Confederates thought the prison was escape-proof, and in this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll show how a determined group of prisoners set out to prove them wrong. We'll also duel with a barrel and puzzle over why an admitted forger would be found innocent. Intro: Iowa attorne...
Nov 28, 2016•30 min•Ep. 131
Australia's Westfield ultramarathon had a surprise entrant in 1983: A 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young joined a field of elite professional runners for the 500-mile race from Sydney to Melbourne. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Young's fortunes in the race and the heart, tenacity, and humor that endeared him to a nation. We'll also learn the difference between no and nay and puzzle over a Japanese baby shortage. Intro: Thomas Wedders exhibited his ...
Nov 21, 2016•34 min•Ep. 130
In 1912, bookseller Wilfrid Voynich discovered an illustrated manuscript that was written in a mysterious alphabet that had never been seen before. The text bears the hallmarks of natural language, but no one has ever been able to determine its meaning. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll learn about the Voynich manuscript, which has been bewildering scholars for more than a century. We'll also ponder some parliamentary hostages and puzzle over a tormenting acquisition. I...
Nov 14, 2016•33 min•Ep. 129
The closing days of World War II witnessed a bizarre battle with some unlikely allies: American and German soldiers joined forces to rescue a group of French prisoners from a medieval castle in the Austrian Alps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Battle for Castle Itter, the only time that Allies and Germans fought together in the war. We'll also dodge another raft of aerial bombs and puzzle over a bottled pear. Intro: In 1917, Royal Flying Corps trainee Grah...
Nov 07, 2016•30 min•Ep. 128
In 1896 two New Jersey clam diggers made a bold bid for fame: They set out to cross the North Atlantic in a rowboat, a feat that had never been accomplished before. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the adventure of George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen, which one newspaper called "the most remarkable event in the way of ocean navigation that ever transpired." We'll also meet some military mammals and puzzle over a thwarted burglar. Intro: The score for Telemann's Gul...
Oct 24, 2016•35 min•Ep. 127
In 1943, fed up with modernist poetry, two Australian servicemen invented a fake poet and submitted a collection of deliberately senseless verses to a Melbourne arts magazine. To their delight, they were accepted and their author hailed as "one of the most remarkable and important poetic figures of this country." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Ern Malley hoax, its perpetrators, and its surprising legacy in Australian literature. We'll also hear ...
Oct 17, 2016•32 min•Ep. 126
