013-An Ingenious Escape From Slavery
Georgia slaves Ellen and William Craft made a daring bid for freedom in 1848: Ellen dressed as a white man and, attended by William as her servant, undertook a perilous 1,000-mile journey by carriage,...
9 Jun 201435min
012-The Great Race, Grace Kelly's Tomahawk, and Dreadful Penmanship
The New York Times proposed an outrageous undertaking in 1908: An automobile race westward from New York to Paris, a journey of 22,000 miles across all of North America and Asia in an era when the mot...
2 Jun 201429min
011-A Woolf in Sheikh's Clothing
Irish practical joker Horace de Vere Cole orchestrated his masterpiece in 1910: He dressed four friends as Abyssinian princes and inveigled a tour of a British battleship. One of the friends, improbab...
26 Mai 201433min
010-A Baboon Soldier, Lighthouse Rescues, and a Parliament of Owls
When Albert Marr joined the South African army in 1915, he received permission to bring along his pet baboon, Jackie. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Jackie's advent...
19 Mai 201434min
009-The Monkey Signalman, Racetrack ESP, and Toxic Dumps
After losing his feet in an accident in the 1880s, South Africa railway worker James "Jumper" Wide found an unlikely friend in a baboon named Jack. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcas...
12 Mai 201434min
008-Owney the Mail Dog, Candy Bombers, and Bertrand Russell
In 1888 a mixed-breed terrier appointed himself mascot of America's railway postal service, accompanying mailbags throughout the U.S. and eventually traveling around the world. In this week's episode ...
5 Mai 201433min
007-Louisiana Hippos, Imaginary Epidemics, and Charles Lindbergh
Two weeks before Charles Lindbergh's famous flight, a pair of French aviators attempted a similar feat. Their brave journey might have changed history -- but they disappeared en route. In this week's ...
28 Apr 201429min
006-Texas Camels, Zebra Stripes, and an Immortal Piano
The 1850s saw a strange experiment in the American West: The U.S. Army imported 70 camels for help in managing the country's suddenly enormous hinterland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet...
21 Apr 201433min
