Useless Information Podcast

Fun story from the 1940's about a man named Harry H. Heim who converted a defunct mill town into the ultimate Christmas wonderland. Also, learn about the most performed Christmas song, a girl who became very ill after an older student told her that Santa Claus didn't exist, a person who mailed 50 empty Christmas envelopes, and what happened when Denny;s decided to close their restaurants for the first time ever on Christmas day. Retrosponsor: Coronet Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1957, three Chicago aluminum awning salesmen decided to quit their jobs and sail to Africa to join in on the lucrative illegal diamond trade. They were in for a wild ride, along with a very big surprise waiting for them at the end. Also, learn about Thomas "Tough Tommy" Holden. Three critical reviews of popular musical acts from the 1970's are featured: Carole King, The Carpenters, and an incredibly brutal review of the rock group Heart. Retrosponsor: Fleischmann's Yeast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long forgotten headline story about a family who lost everything in the Great Kansas flood of 1951. Yet, all was not as it seemed... Also learn about what a Lucy Stoner is, a man who used handcuffs to hitchhike, twins who were hitchhiking around the world, and a father and son who were reunited through hitchhiking. Retrosponsor: Mahdeen Shampoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the late 1800's and early 1900's, people around the United States gathered to watch two trains being smashed together. As a PR stunt, W.G. Crush organized one of these crashes for the Kay Railroad near West, Texas. More than 20,000 spectators were in the audience when it all went horribly wrong. Also learn about the first state to adopt Labor Day as an official holiday, a 6-year-old who purchased a lot of candy and toys, a railway clerk who had 70-lb package of ants sitting on his desk, and a fight for a parking spot in Kansas City. Retrosponsor: Chicago Motor Club Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pearl River, Louisiana resident Effie Crawford made the most startling discovery on November 11, 1936. Moving through the brush near her home she spotted a large dog carrying an unusual package in its mouth. She grabbed the bundle and opened it to find that it contained a newborn baby. Also learn the difference between a tree and a shrub, a town that hoarded shiny 1902 pennies, a man kept alive as friends pumped his arms up and down, and someone who took advantage of a motel that offered free TV. Retrosponsor: Gefilte Fish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world's fastest bicyclist in the 1890's was Charles Minthorp Murphy and he was certain that there was no locomotive on Earth that could go faster than he could. To prove this, Murphy set a goal to ride one-mile in one-minute, a speed that few locomotives could achieve back then. It was the classic battle of man vs. machine. Also learn about the most popular song ever on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, a woman who gave birth twice in a taxi cab, the controversial first self-service gas stations, and a man who was convinced that he was being followed for miles. Retrosponsor: Mollé Shaving Cream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Cleves Symmes was a popular lecturer back in the 1820's. Not only did Symmes believe that Newton got the concept of gravity totally wrong, he proposed that the Earth had a hollow interior and that one could enter this subterranean world via large holes at each of our poles. Symmes attracted a large number of supporters and his planned voyage to the North Pole was, at one point, debated and voted on by Congress. Also learn about the groundbreaking publication that Sir Edmund Halley financed, a scientist who suggested that the two moons of Mars were artificial, the relationship between gout and intelligence, and that the best cure for the hiccups may be sticking a rubber tube up your nose. Retrosponsor: DuPont. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pennsylvania resident Jacob Silverman made national headlines back in 1922 for the crime of owning a dog named Dick within the commonwealth. The law at the time required that Dick be killed simply because he was owned by Jacob. Could something be done to save Dick's life? Also learn about the only movie on the Internet Database website not rated on a scale of 1 to 10, a London woman who fed wild rats, the first cow to fly in an airplane, and a man who had his life saved by a turtle. Retrosponsor: Snickers candy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus episode that includes an interview that I did back in 2014 with Lene Bech Sillesen and a recording of the NBC live news report when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1948, Dorothy Lawlor decided to take an ad out in the Newsday newspaper seeking a husband in exchange for $10,000. Within twenty-four hours she became a media sensation. Did she really marry one of these men? The answer may surprise you. Includes an interview with her granddaughter. Also learn the original color of Muppet Oscar the Grouch, a 74-year-old man who advertised for his third wife, a woman who sought a husband to help pay off her debts, and a stenographer who lost her job after placing a personal ad in the newspaper. Retrosponsor: Canada Dry Club Water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 1950's and early 1960's, Anthony "Tino" De Angelis ran a global salad oil empire. Find out how Tino grew his business so quickly, his shocking downfall, how JFK’s assassination ties into the story, and the way that one of the world's richest men today made a good chunk of change off of everyone else’s misfortune. Also learn about the original name for the game Twister, a doctor or strongly discouraged excessive exercisem a glue sniffing fad, and people that consumed lemon-scented dish soap. Retrosponsor: Title Insurance and Trust Co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When author Robert Louis Stevenson learned that young Vermont native Annie Ide hated her Christmas birthday, he decided to deed his own birthday to her. Listen to this episode to learn how she celebrated her new birthday and what happened after she died. Also learn about when the first Christmas card was printed, a man who got a living doll for Christmas, a boy who tried to emulate Santa, and a recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrosponsor: Hallmark Cards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May of 1929, Old Orchard Beach in Maine was the site for an airplane race that pitted the smaller, more nimble American Green Flash against larger, more powerful French Yellow Bird. Anticipation mounted for weeks as the two planes attempted to get off the ground. Also, learn about the world's first airline, a man who clung to the fuselage of an airplane, a man sucked into a jet engine, and an astronaut impersonator. Retrosponsor: Northwest Orient Airlines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the S.E. Massengill Co. introduced its Elixir Sulfanilamide to the market in September 1937, there was no law in the United States requiring pharmaceutical companies to test their medicines for toxicity. In just the short time that this elixir produced, it took the lives of more than 100 people, many of whom were young children. Also learn about the world's most popular medicine, how the next generation of children were predicted to have teeth like Bugs Bunny, a woman who won a TV contest to get her nose fixed, and the relationship between breast size and intelligence. Retrosponsor: Massengill Medicated Disposable Douche. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During desperate times some people are forced to do desperate things. The trick is to not get caught. Let's just say that Maybelle Trow Knox was not very good at that last part. Also learn the real name of Scooby Doo's best friend Shaggy, how Scooby Doo got his name, a teacher who used an electric chair to punish students, a girl too afraid to show her report card, and a boy who placed his loose tooth in his ear. Retrosponsor: Arrid deodorant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Great Depression was an awful time for farmers in Iowa. It culminated with the near hanging of a judge in Le Mars. It just happens that the farm involved was owned by the T.M. Zink estate, the same man who left his savings for the establishment of a womanless library. Also learn about the only planet in our solar system where its day is longer that its year and three unusual stories involving marriage annulment. Retrosponsor: Spry Vegetable Shortening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first of a 3-part series on Le Mars, Iowa from the 1930's. Le Mars was thrust into the national spotlight by the actions of just one man: a successful lawyer named T.M. Zink, who left nearly his entire estate for the establishment of a very unusual library. Listen to this podcast to determine whether Zink was truly mad or simply playing a good practical joke on the world. Also learn about a man who pushed a heavy cart many mile off course, an artist's model fired for his Van Dyke beard, a waiter who poisoned his customers, and the original title of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Retrosponsor: Vicks VapoRub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was one of the first female doctors in the United States and is the only woman to ever receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, until the government rescinded her award. Also learn about a woman who accidentally served her husband dog food for breakfast, three children found locked in a tool box, who CBS wanted to replace Rod Serling on the Twilight Zone with plus the title that ABC wished to rename the show. Retrosponsor: Ingram's Shaving Cream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between 1942 and 1943 Ralph Marshall Wilby appeared to pull off what appeared to be the perfect crime. An incredible story that has many elements of an international thriller: deception, false identities, international kidnapping, and the drop dead gorgeous woman who brought his capture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 5, 2000, Ines Ramirez Perez went into labor but was unable to get any medical care to help with the delivery. In a panic, Ines concluded that she had no other option than to deliver the baby herself. She used an ordinary kitchen knife to perform a cesarean on herself. Find out what happened afterward and stories of other self-cesareans. Also, learn about a toy made from Zectron, a man who had the ultimate solution for a sore throat, a doctor who removed his own appendix, and another man who washed his intestines under the kitchen faucet. Retrosponsor: Hind's Honey and Almond Cream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1911, Wilkes-Barre, PA resident John Jay "Butch" McDevitt won the Democratic Primary for county treasurer. The only problem was that the Democratic Committee didn't want McDevitt on the ballot. Listen to this story to find out how the party got rid of him and how he capitalized on this for the rest of his life. Also, learn about three animals involved in politics and the first time that the red & blue electoral map was used on network television. Retrosponsor: Gracie Allen for President. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Halloween episode. Learn about a reputable California dentist named William Shyne who supposedly gave the children of his neighborhood lollipops and laxative pills for Halloween. Also, learn about a woman arrested for dressing like a man, a man who was arrested after purchasing Halloween candy for his wife, the day Princess Margaret was caught smoking a cigarette, and the best-selling Halloween candy in the United States. Retrosponsor: Rogers Bros. Plated Silverware Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 6, 1946 a young woman was arrested in Palisades Park, NJ for refusing to provide a police officer with her name. She had been cooperative in every way but refused to provide that single piece of information. Her story soon became front page news nationwide. Also learn about discontinued Monopoly game tokens, the Hear-See recording system, the introduction of the Radarange, and what was to be called the "Tape Age." Retrosponsor: The American Weekly magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The everything ice cream episode! Learn about an ongoing war between ice cream vendors, which included bombings, gunfire, torching of trucks, and threats. Also, learn about a ban on using glue in ice cream, a pharmacy robbery where one of the bandits served ice cream, and a woman who set up a $20,000 ice cream trust fund. Retrosponsor: Sealtest Ice Cream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1935, Yonkers, NY made international news for arresting five NYC women who wore shorts and bandana halters. At one point, the Yonkers' aldermen proposed the building of a fence around the entire Tibbetts Brook Park to keep the undesirable people out. Also, learn about one man's attempt to shut down a nudist colony, two men forced to hike nude for many miles, a topless cellist, and the only company still on the Dow Jones Industrial Average that was on the original list. Retrosponsor: Manischewitz Matzo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In September of 1950, a young woman contacted Miami police to let them know that someone had stolen money from her, money that she had helped to steal from Southern Bell originally. This led to the discovery of a highly unusual theft ring. Also, learn about a boy that was sentenced to three years for stealing a single penny, crooks that stole the wrong box, a man who specialized in stealing cash from pay phones, and which season has the most number of days. Retrosponsor: Remington-Rand Business Machines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Lyndon Johnson was never one to hold back his words, whether they be good or bad. Listen to this episode to learn what he felt was the ugliest thing that he had ever seen. Also, learn about the original 3 Musketeers Candy Bar, a man who turned blue, a woman offended by a new red, white, & blue girdle, and aluminum swimwear. Retrosponsor: MGM Studios/The Wizard of Oz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The drowning of Brockport, NY resident Maxwell Breeze in the Erie Canal back in 1936 was the basis for one of the most unusual death penalty cases ever. Find out who was placed on trial, the decision handed down by the court, and what happened to the accused murderer in the end. Also, learn which Beatles' song is the second most covered of all time, a headless rooster named Lazarus, how a family went ape over a monkey up a tree in their backyard, and the death leap of over 1,000 sheep. Retrosponsor: Campana Italian Balm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the past, teachers could be fired some of the craziest reasons such as wearing turtleneck sweaters, pantsuits, not going to church, or smoking a cigarette at home. Check out this story to learn about one of the more unusual ways a teacher could be denied a teaching license. Also learn who was the first person on the cover of TV Guide, a teacher fired for being too pretty, others fired for having children, and yet another for refusing to sign a loyalty oath. Retrosponsor: Milk-Bone dog biscuits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Salem Trade School was the worst high school football team in the Boston region back in the 1920's. Any team that played against them was almost guaranteed to win. The Salem Trade team had a big secret and they somehow managed to keep it under wraps for six years. Also learn about the history of peanut butter, the origin of tighty-whiteys, reporters who hated Elvis Presley, reporters who equally hated The Beatles, and a death threat against the Bee Gees. Retrosponsor: Peter Pan Peanut Butter (with Mike Wallace as announcer!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The comical true story of an ordinary house mouse that could sing. Next came a one-year contract with NBC radio and an international contest to find the world's best singing mouse. Also learn about the man who invented Christmas lights, a boy who received a new leg for Christmas, another boy that traded his prized Christmas gift for a mouse, and woman who saved Christmas for a California family. Retrosponsor: Elgin watches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you ended up being the last person alive on Earth? Back in 1960, the San Francisco Chronicle decided to send their hunting and fishing columnist Bud Boyd up into the Marble Mountains of California for six weeks to find out if one could really survive. Let's just say that everything did not go as planned... Also learn about Reynold B. Johnson's first big invention, a poison ivy lawsuit, a girl who believed that she caused a boy's death, and a dangerous tricycle driver. Retrosponsor: Delrich E-Z Color Margarine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When escaped slave Charles Nalle was arrested in Troy, NY on April 27, 1860, no one could have anticipated what happened next. With the help of Harriet Tubman, Nalle is believed to have been the only person in United States history to have been rescued from slavery four times. Also learn about when the first hard disk drive was invented, a woman killed by her lipstick, a guy forced to pay alimony for thirty years to a woman who wouldn't divorce him, and a guy who faked his own death. Retrosponsor: Birdseye Frozen Spinach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crazy story about an elderly monk and his wife who decided to adopt their 63-year-old doctor. The doctor was then arrested for supposedly murdering his new mother. Also learn about the first two electric toys inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, a plea from the US government for spyglasses, the discovery of long-forgotten wine cellars, and a man who liked to hear glass tinkle. Retrosponsor: ExLax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just what happens when you write to the President of the United States to let him know that you have the same birthday as him? A 13-year-old girl named Anna Sklepovich did just that and the results did not turn out as she had planned. Also learn about a set of twins that shared a driver's license, a young girl's large inheritance, and thieves that tried to open the wrong safe. Retrosponsor: Anacin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1935 a man carrying a sandwich-board sign stumbles across the find of a lifetime: A wallet containing the stocks certificates from Philips Petroleum, GE, and DuPont. Find out what the press said that he did with the certificates, what really happened, and how he killed a man simply by staring at him. Also, learn about a very long chess match, a baseball-playing porpoise, and the mule that causes three car accidents. Retrosponsor: Wheatena Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1928, Clarence Frechette made national news for a bizarre attack that he made on the pilot of an airplane that he was aboard, possibly making him the world's first hijacker. Amazingly, he was back in the news in 1935 for an equally bizarre crime. Also learn about a guy that cut off his mother-in-law's nose, a woman who sought alimony from the wrong man, and a group of students that never intended to rob a bank. Retrosponsor: Adler Elevator Shoes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1955, Evert Stenmark was out hunting alone for ptarmigan when he became buried by an avalanche. Day after day he remained trapped under the snow. Learn how he survived and the one thing that he had in his wallet that probably saved his life. Also hear the story of a man that suffered the bites from three different animals in the same day, a man that gave up his right arm for his daughter's health, and a woman that called off her wedding partly due to a horse named Wedding Expenses. Retrosponsor: Crisco Shortening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Peter Grainger walked into a US Army recruiting center in San Antonio, Texas back in 1951, he had quite the story to tell. He had spent nearly his entire life living high in the mountains of New Mexico with virtually no contact with the outside world. But was there more to this story than what he was telling them? Also learn about a man with the worst luck ever, a man who hopped the wrong train home, and mysterious movement on the moon. Retrosponsor: Bab-O Cleanser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On an October day back in 1941, John Kmetz received a trial supply of herbal pills that would supposedly restore vitality to his 54-year-old body. Shortly after taking the pills, Kmetz was dead. Learn about the man suspected of the crime, another bizarre event that occurred prior to the murder, and his ultimate fate. Also hear about a singer that kissed one too many women, a man who glued pennies to his desk, and car paint colors that lure beetles. Retrosponsor: Trident gum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1953 Harold Jesse Berney, head of a Washington, DC television antenna manufacturing operation, was chosen by the US government to be its main contact with Uccelles, a prince visiting our planet from Venus. If that sounds a bit bizarre, listen to this story to learn about one of the most fantastic swindles ever conceived. Also learn about a man who was shot three times and suffered no injuries, the day the circus never came to town, and a truck that could no longer fit through the same garage by which it had entered. Retrosponsor: Eversharp Schick Injector Razors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Christmas episode! Learn about a man named Joe Bonavita who returned to the Bowery in New York City every year to celebrate Christmas with those less fortunate. Also, hear three shorter true stories about Santa getting into a bit of hot water. Plus, do you know the first really big hit song to contain Jesus in its lyrics? Listen to find out the answer. Retrosponsor: Toni Home Permanent Images, links, and transcripts for this podcast can be found at https://uselessinformation.org/joseph-bonavita-the-bowerys-santa/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most bizarre stories ever presented on this podcast. The nearly unbelievable true story about a woman hired to investigate another woman suspected in a jewel heist. Also learn about two woman who thought that they were married to the same dying man, the surprising return of a man's coat years after he gave it away, and a woman who knitted a sweater for the troops during World War I. Retrosponsor: Vitalis Hair Tonic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you completely lost your memory? In this true story, a man went nearly twenty years without remembering a single detail about his life. Also learn why the US Postal Service had been purchasing large quantities of cat food, a bank robbery gone totally wrong, and why ice cream cones were once illegal in Washington, DC. Retrosponsor: Hopper's White Clay Pack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When New York City’s Citicorp Tower opened in 1977, it was hailed as an architectural marvel—but few knew it harbored a potentially fatal flaw. A simple phone call from a college student in New Jersey to the tower’s structural engineer may have prevented a catastrophic disaster and saved tens of thousands of lives. This episode features an interview with Lee DeCarolis, the student who made that life-saving call. Also, learn about a man who desired a woman who could cook applesauce, a couple that had six sets of twins, and a teacher who dared to go tieless. Retrosponsor: Drene Shampoo Images, links, and transcripts for this podcast can be found at https://uselessinformation.org/the-citicorp-tower-revisited-podcast-75/ You can follow the Useless Information Podcast on these platforms: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uselessinformationpodcast X (Twitter): https://t.co/7pV2H8iXJV Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/FlipSideofHistory/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should parents be held responsible for the crimes that their children commit? Listen to this story from 1947 detailing just what happened when New York City tried to do just that. Also learn about the countries that drink the most coffee, a ring-turning fad, sun lamp parties, and tattooed pantyhose. Retrosponsor: Fram Oil Filters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1920, Newark, NJ was host to one of the most bizarre funerals ever. An estimated 10,000 people lined the streets to witness the funeral procession of Jimmie the singing canary. Also learn the name of the dog on Cracker Jack packaging, a snake that milked a cow, a raccoon that saved its owners' lives, and how a pack of dogs interfered with a sheep study. Retrosponsor: Hartz Mountain Pet Products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fun story from 1923. Newspapers around the United States reported daily on the health of the Fever Girl - a woman with the highest temperature ever recorded to that date. Would she live or die? Listen to this episode to find out all of the details. Also learn about the current high-fever record holder plus three tidbits about teachers. Retrosponsor: Velveeta. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have heard about the Californian couple that found five cans of gold coins on their property. Two Baltimore boys made a similar discovery back in 1934, but this pot of gold proved to be anything but lucky. Also learn about people that were paid to wake others up before alarm clocks, four daughters that could never marry, a lawsuit against Jackie Robinson, and an incident involving a minibike and a dog. Retrosponsor: Tums Antacid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever just had enough of your job and wanted to walk away from it? Bus driver William Cimillo found himself in this position back in 1947 and his unique solution made him an instant celebrity. Also learn how many men have ever walked on the moon and three different stories related to tsunamis. Retrosponsor: Rio Grande Cracked Gasoline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices