306-The Inventor Who Disappeared

In the winter of 1931, a dramatic manhunt unfolded in northern Canada when a reclusive trapper shot a constable and fled across the frigid landscape. In the chase that followed the mysterious fugitive amazed his pursuers with his almost superhuman abilities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the hunt for the "Mad Trapper of Rat River." We'll also visit a forgotten windbreak and puzzle over a father's age. Intro: Korean soldier Yang Kyoungjong was conscripted successively by Japan, the Soviet Union, and Germany. In 1978, Arnold Rosenberg examined idioms to trace a path to the most incomprehensible natural language. RCMP constable Alfred King is at far left in the photo; constable Edgar Millen is second from right. Sources for our feature on Albert Johnson: Dick North, Mad Trapper of Rat River: A True Story of Canada's Biggest Manhunt, 2005. Barbara Smith, The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery, 2011. Richard C. Davis, "The Mad Trapper, by Rudy Wiebe," Arctic 35:2 (1982), 342. Leslie McCartney, "'You Need to Tell That True Albert Johnson Story Like We Know It': Meanings Embedded in the Gwich'in Version of the Albert Johnson Story," Canadian Journal of Native Studies 37:1 (2017), 201-235. "Who Was the Mad Trapper of Rat River?", Forensic Magazine, June 6, 2018. "Lawbreakers: More Hustlers, Rustlers and Wild Men," Canada's History 96:2 (April/May 2016). Jay Merrett, "Caught by the Mad Trapper," Canada's History 93:1 (February/March 2013). Bob Butz, "Bad Guys Gone 'Wild,'" Outdoor Life 213:6 (June/July 2006), 19. Alan Phillips, "Who Was the Mad Trapper of Rat River?", Maclean's, Oct. 1, 1955. Barbara Roden, "The Mad Trapper Part 4: The Quest to Identify Albert Johnson Begins," [Ashcroft, B.C.] Journal, Sept. 17, 2019. Barbara Roden, "Golden Country: The Mad Trapper Part 5," [Ashcroft, B.C.] Journal, Oct. 3, 2019. Marc Montgomery, "Canada History: Feb 17, 1932: The End and Beginning of the Mystery of the Mad Trapper," Radio Canada International, Feb. 17, 2017. Michael Gates, "Dick North: Farewell to Yukon's Great Storyteller," Yukon News, Oct. 4, 2013. "Hunt for the Mad Trapper -- The Story Ends," [Swan Hills, Alberta] Grizzly Gazette, March 13, 2012, 5. "Hunt for the Mad Trapper," [Swan Hills, Alberta] Grizzly Gazette, Jan. 10, 2012, 4. Josh Wingrove, "Feb. 17, 1932 / Mounties Get the Mad Trapper," Globe and Mail, Feb. 17, 2011, A.2. Joe McWilliams, "Mad Trapper Story Still Fascinates," [High Prairie, Alberta] South Peace News, Dec. 15, 2010, 6. Darah Hansen, "Tooth Enamel Reveals Mad Trapper No Canadian," Edmonton Journal, May 23, 2009, A.5. James Adams, "DNA Tests Prove Mad Trapper Still a Mystery," Globe and Mail, May 13, 2009, R.1. "Mad Trapper Not a Canadian, Scientific Tests Discover," CBC News, Feb. 20, 2009. Jeff Holubitsky, "Fugitive Could Live All Winter in Deep Bush, Outfitter Says," Edmonton Journal, Oct. 10, 2007, A18. Erin Hitchcock, "The Mad Trapper, Unmasked," [New Westminster, B.C.] Record, Sept. 15, 2007, 3. "Trapper Almost Evades Capture," Guelph Mercury, Aug. 16, 2007, A6. "Filmmakers Exhume Mad Trapper's Body," Nanaimo [B.C] Daily News, Aug. 15, 2007, A2. Keith Bonnell, "Mystery of 'Mad Trapper' Nearly Solved," Vancouver Sun, Aug. 15, 2007, C10. "Mad Trapper's Remains Surface in Historic Dig," CBC News, Aug 13, 2007. Katherine Harding, "Hunt for the Mad Trapper Is Back On," Globe and Mail, May 29, 2007, A.3. "Remains of Mad Trapper of Rat River Could Finally Lead to Identification," [Prince Rupert, B.C.] Daily News, May 7, 2007, 11. "Mad Trapper Mystery May Finally Be Solved," Winnipeg Free Press, May 5, 2007, A.13. Ian Mcinroy, "Tracker of Mad Trapper Remembered," [Barrie, Ontario] Examiner, Jan. 13, 2006, A3. Tom Hawthorn, "He Hunted the Mad Trapper," Globe and Mail, March 15, 2003, F.11. Bob Gilmour, "Frontiersmen Pay Tribute to Trapper's Victim," Edmonton Journal, Sept. 28, 1997, A.10. Kerry Powell, "Glory Days; Mad Trapper's Nemesis; Signal Success," Edmonton Journal, Aug. 6, 1995, B.3. "Group to Retrace Mad Trapper Route," Hamilton Spectator, March 5, 1994, A8. Rudy Wiebe, "Trapper Identification Fails to Convince Author," Edmonton Journal, Sept. 2, 1989, E6. Garth Hopkins, "Sequel to The Mad Trapper of Rat River Fascinating Piece of Work," Vancouver Sun, July 29, 1989, D4. Alan Hustak, "a.k.a. the Mad Trapper," [Montreal] Gazette, May 13, 1989, K12. Lynne Van Luven, "Hobby-Turned-Obsession Led to Mad Trapper Solution," Edmonton Journal, May 13, 1989, D3. "Hunt Resumes for Elusive Mad Trapper," Ottawa Citizen, May 9, 1987, H15. "Mad Trapper Film Sparks Furor," Globe and Mail, April 2, 1980, P.16. "Royal Police Get Insane Trapper -- Dead," Las Vegas Age, Feb. 18, 1932, 1. "A Most Bizarre Case: The Mad Trapper of Rat River," Whitehorse Star, Feb. 17, 1932. "Mad Trapper Eludes Cops," Las Vegas Age, Feb. 10, 1932, 1. "Plane Nears Aklavik in Hunt for Trapper," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Feb. 5, 1932, C-5. "Canadian Trapper Slays Policeman," Bismarck Tribune, Feb. 1, 1932, 2. "'Mad Hermit' Flees Canadian Police," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Jan. 27, 1932, A-7. "10 Men Off to Take Barricaded Trapper," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Jan. 20, 1932, B-5. "Canadian Trapper Has Defied Police," Bismarck Tribune, Jan. 14, 1932, 1. "Arctic Trapper Defies Officers," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Jan. 14, 1932, A-16. "Constable Millen's Cairn Territorial Historic Site," Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (accessed Dec. 1, 2019). Edward Butts, "Albert Johnson, 'The Mad Trapper of Rat River,'" Canadian Encyclopedia, Jan. 22, 2008. Leslie McCartney, "That Albert Johnson Story: Aboriginal Oral History Inclusion in Canadian Archives," First Nations, First Thoughts Conference, University of Edinburgh, May 2005. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Anna Sorokin," (accessed Dec. 4, 2019). "A Fake Heiress Bilked NYC Socialites for Years. Then the Elaborate Hoax Unraveled," CBS News, March 27, 2019. Emily Palmer, "A Fake Heiress Called Anna Delvey Conned the City's Wealthy. 'I'm Not Sorry,' She Says," New York Times, May 10, 2019. "Anna Sorokin: Fake Heiress Apologises as She Is Sentenced," BBC News, May 9, 2019. Jonathan Allen, "Fake Heiress Who Dazzled New York Elite Gets 4 to 12 Years for Fraud," Reuters, May 9, 2019. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Dust Bowl," Dec. 12, 2019. "Dust Bowl," History.com, March 14, 2019. Adam Wernick, "Trees That Helped Save America's Farms During the Dust Bowl Are Now Under Threat," Public Radio International, Feb. 3, 2018. Wikipedia, "Great Plains Shelterbelt" (accessed Dec. 2, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Paul Bigler. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

16 Dec 201933min

As the Civil War fractured Washington D.C., socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow coordinated a vital spy ring to funnel information to the Confederates. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe one of the war's most unlikely spies, and her determination to aid the South. We'll also fragment the queen's birthday and puzzle over a paid game of pinball. Intro: German officer Ernst Jünger likened the sounds of World War I shelling to "being menaced by a man swinging a heavy hammer." Bowdoin College compiled a list of odd how-to titles. NOTE: After this episode was originally released, some listeners objected to our handling of Greenhow's story, saying that we were treating her too sympathetically when she was defending the institution of slavery. They're entirely right about that -- I had focused on her personal story without being sensitive to its larger implications. I'm very sorry for that oversight. We're presenting the story here as it originally ran, and we'll discuss listeners' reactions to it in Episode 279. -- Greg Sources for our feature: Ann Blackman, Wild Rose: Rose O'Neale Greenhow, Civil War Spy, 2006. Ishbel Ross, Rebel Rose: Life of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy, 1954. Karen Abbott, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, 2014. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington, 1863. H. Donald Winkler, Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War, 2010. Michael J. Sulick, Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War, 2014. Allan Pinkerton, The Spy of the Rebellion, 1886. John Bakeless, Spies of the Confederacy, 2011. Ernest B. Furgurson, "The End of Illusions," Smithsonian 42:4 (July/August 2011), 56-64. Jack Finnegan, "Professional Results for an Amateur," Military History, suppl. "Spies and Secret Missions: A History of American Espionage" (2002), 34-35. Nancy B. Samuelson, "Employment of Female Spies in the American Civil War," Minerva 7:3 (Dec. 31, 1989), 57. "Seized Correspondence of Rose O'Neal Greenhow," U.S. National Archives (accessed Nov. 24, 2019). Rose O'Neal Greenhow Papers, Special Collections Library, Duke University. "The Wild Rose of Washington," New York Times, Aug. 22, 2011. "Spy Loved, Died in Line of Duty," [Wilmington, N.C] Morning Star, Dec. 31, 1999, 23. "Civil War Day by Day," Washington [D.C.] Herald, Sept. 30, 1914, 4. "Fair Southern Spies," [Savannah, Ga.] Morning News, Sept. 29, 1896, 5. "Blockade Running," [Winston, N.C.] Western Sentinel, Jan. 14, 1886. "A Rich New Year's Gift," Yorkville [S.C.] Enquirer, Feb. 6, 1862, 1. "The Female Traitors in Washington," New York Herald, Jan. 22, 1862, 2. "Mrs. Greenhow's Indignant Letter to Mr. Seward," New York Herald, Dec. 16, 1861, 4. Phyllis F. Field, "Greenhow, Rose O'Neal," American National Biography, February 2000. Listener mail: "Public Holidays in Western Australia," Government of Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (accessed Nov. 27, 2019). Wikipedia, "Oscar Wilde" (accessed Nov. 27, 2019). Howard Markel, "No, Oscar Wilde Probably Didn't Die of Syphilis," PBS NewsHour, Nov. 30, 2015. Jon Henley, "Wilde Gets Revenge on Wallpaper," Guardian, Dec. 1, 2000. "What Are the Best Last Words Ever?", Atlantic 317:4 (April 2016), 13. "Grand Lakes St. Marys Educational Series: History of GLSM What You Don't Know," Lake Improvement Association (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). "Grand Lake St. Marys State Park: History," Ohio State Parks and Watercraft (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). Lew Powell, "Behind the Lines, Fighting Malaria With Whiskey," North Carolina Miscellany, July 10, 2011. Wikipedia, "Gin and Tonic" (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). Wikipedia, "Tonic Water" (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). "'The Book of Gin' Distills a Spirited History," Morning Edition, National Public Radio, Dec. 28, 2012. Kal Raustiala, "The Imperial Cocktail," Slate, Aug. 28, 2013. "The Largest Human-Made Lakes in the World," WorldAtlas (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). Wikipedia, "Lake Kariba" (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was inspired by an item heard on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

9 Dec 201930min

In 1961, Goya's famous portrait of the Duke of Wellington went missing from London's National Gallery. The case went unsolved for four years before someone unexpectedly came forward to confess to the heist. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe one of the greatest art thefts in British history and the surprising twists that followed. We'll also discover Seward's real folly and puzzle over a man's motherhood. Intro: One of the desks on the U.S. Senate floor is full of candy. Astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space. The following list of "Sasha Spottings" comes from Brandi Sweet, caretaker of Bella, Ojo, Schatzi, Babu, and Atte: Episode 9 Episode 46 Episode 63 Episode 114 Episode 139 Episode 144 Episode 146 ("mentioned as purring but I couldn't hear her") Episode 148 Episode 156 Episode 164 Episode 168 Episode 173 Episode 183 Episode 201 Episode 207 Episode 215 Sources for our feature on Kempton Bunton and Goya's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington: Alan Hirsch, The Duke of Wellington, Kidnapped!, 2016. Simon Mackenzie, "Criminal and Victim Profiles in Art Theft: Motive, Opportunity and Repeat Victimisation," Art Antiquity and Law 10:4 (November 2005), 353-370. Melvin E. DeGraw, "Art Theft in Perspective," International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 31:1 (1987), 1-10. Richard LeBlanc, "Thief-Proofing Our Art Museums: Security Expensive? ... Not the Morning After," UNESCO Courier 18:10 (November 1965), 4-6, 10-17 "Hugh Courts' Papers Relating to the Trial of Kempton Bunton," National Gallery (accessed Nov. 17, 2019). "The National Gallery: The Missing Masterpiece," Royal Society (accessed Nov. 17, 2019). James Whitfield, "The Duke Disappears" History Today 61:8 (August 2011), 43-49. "Thefts From Museums," Burlington Magazine 109:767 (February 1967), 55-56. Noah Charney, "The Wackiest Art Heist Ever," Salon, Nov. 15, 2015. "Spectre of Goya: Letters to the Editor," Times, Oct. 31, 2019, 28. "'The Thieves Vanished Into the Rio Carnival Crowds' - The 10 Most Audacious Art Heists in History," Telegraph.co.uk, Jan. 26, 2018. Adrian Lee, "Britain's Most Bizarre Art Heist," Daily Express, April 16, 2016, 37. Alan Travis, "Revealed: 1961 Goya 'Theft' From National Gallery Was a Family Affair," Guardian, Nov. 30, 2012. "A Blizzard and a Blaze," [Newcastle-upon-Tyne] Evening Chronicle, Dec. 31, 2011, 10. Noah Charney, "Art Thieves No Longer Oddballs," [Christchurch, New Zealand] Press, Sept. 2, 2011. Sandy Nairne, "From National Gallery to Dr No's lair," Guardian, Aug. 6, 2011, 14. Sandy Nairne, "How Goya's Duke of Wellington Was Stolen," Guardian, Aug. 5, 2011. "Hero or Villain?: Geordie's Bizarre Crime of Conscience," [Newcastle-upon-Tyne] Evening Chronicle, June 30, 2010, 10. David Lee, "It's a Steal: Why Art Remains a Favourite Among Thieves," Times, May 22, 2010, 21. Chris Cobb, "Stolen Masterpieces," Ottawa Citizen, Jan. 11, 2009, B.1. "Goya Thief Sent for Trial," Times, Aug. 18, 2001, 25. Peter Lennon and Edward Pilkington, "Files Reveal Innocent Man Was Jailed for Stealing Goya Painting From the National Gallery in 1961," Guardian, Jan. 13, 1996, 3. Paul Hoffman, "Psst! Wanna Buy a Hot Rembrandt?", New York Times, June 1, 1975. "Stolen Wellington by Goya Rehung in London Gallery," New York Times, Jan. 12, 1966. W. Granger Blair, "Briton Acquitted of Stealing Goya; But Admitted Thief Is Guilty of Taking the Frame," New York Times, Nov. 17, 1965. Clyde H. Farnsworth, "Ransom Asked for Goya Stolen in '61," New York Times, Dec. 31, 1964. "Work Said to Be Uninsured," New York Times, Feb. 18, 1964. "'No Questions' Deal Is Offered for Goya," New York Times, Jan. 8, 1964. "Scotland Yard to Examine Alleged Ashes of Painting," New York Times, Jan. 2, 1964. "Greatest Heists in Art History," BBC News, Aug. 23, 2004. "Portrait of the Duke of Wellington," Paintings in Movies (accessed 11/17/2019). Jillian Elizabeth Seaton, "Touching the Void: The Museological Implications of Theft on Public Art Collections," dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 2014. County Cork's Algiers Inn, from listener Ken Murphy. Listener mail: The Algiers Inn. Barry Roche, "Pirate Raid That Stunned Nation," Sun, Jan. 10, 2003, 8. Wikipedia, "Alaska Purchase" (accessed Nov. 22, 2019). Jesse Greenspan, "Why the Purchase of Alaska Was Far From 'Folly,'" History.com, March 30, 2017. "Purchase of Alaska, 1867," Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State (accessed Nov. 22, 2019). "History of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the United States Department of State," U.S. Department of State, October 2011 (page xxiii). Ralph E. Weber, "Seward's Other Folly: America's First Encrypted Cable," Studies in Intelligence 36 (1992), 105-109. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Jesse Schlaud. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

2 Dec 201930min

In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee brought new rigor to crime scene analysis with a curiously quaint tool: She designed 20 miniature scenes of puzzling deaths and challenged her students to investigate them analytically. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death and their importance to modern investigations. We'll also appreciate an overlooked sled dog and puzzle over a shrunken state. Intro: In a lecture at Cornell, Vladimir Nabokov considered Gregor Samsa's new species. Siren Elise Wilhelmsen taught a clock to knit a scarf. Flickr and the Smithsonian American Art Museum have image galleries of Frances Glessner Lee's nutshell studies. Sources for our story: Corinne May Botz, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, 2004. Frances Glessner Lee, "Legal Medicine at Harvard University," Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science 42:5 (January-February 1952), 674-678. M. Uebel, "Corpus Delicti: Frances Glessner Lee and the Art of Suspicion," Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 27:2 (2018), 124-126. Jacquelyn A.D. Jones, "The Value and Potential of Forensic Models," Forensics Journal 8 (2017), 58-65. Katherine Ramsland, "The Truth in a Nutshell," Forensic Examiner 17:2 (2008), 1620. "Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," Forensic Magazine, Sept. 8, 2017. Jimmy Stamp, "How a Chicago Heiress Trained Homicide Detectives With an Unusual Tool: Dollhouses," Smithsonian.com, March 6, 2014. Sarah Zhang, "How a Gilded-Age Heiress Became the 'Mother of Forensic Science,'" Atlantic, Oct. 14, 2017. Nicole Cooley, "Death and Feminism in a Nutshell," Paris Review, Feb. 5, 2018. Nigel Richardson, "Murder She Built," Telegraph Magazine, Jan. 31, 2015, 36. Catherine Nixey, "Who Shot Barbie?", Times, Nov. 10, 2014, 9. Jessica Snyder Sachs, "Welcome to the Dollhouses of Death," Popular Science 262:5 (May 2003), 38. William L. Hamilton, "Heiress Plotted 19 Grisly Crimes. Investigation Underway," New York Times, Jan. 10, 2018. Ariella Budick, "Bring Up the Bodies: Dioramas," Financial Times, Dec. 30, 2017, 14. "The Art of Murder: Miniature Dioramas of Unexplained Deaths – In Pictures," Guardian, Oct. 27, 2017. Maura Judkis, "Homicide Sweet Homicide," Washington Post, Oct. 27, 2017, T19. "These Miniature Murder Scenes Have Shown Detectives How to Study Homicides for 70 Years," Washington Post, Sept. 17, 2017, A.24. Chris Hewitt, "Crime-Scene Replicas Still Have Tale to Tell in Minneapolis Filmmaker's Documentary," Saint Paul Pioneer Press, March 18, 2013. Michael Sragow, "Murder in a Nutshell," Baltimore Sun, June 3, 2012, E.1. "Visible Proofs: Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," New York Times, May 11, 2009. Amanda Schaffer, "Solving Puzzles With Body Parts as the Pieces," New York Times, Feb. 28, 2006. Robert Gottlieb, "True Story of Elderly Heiress Who Designed Dioramas of Death," New York Observer, Jan. 24, 2005, 21. Robin Summerfield, "Crime in a Nutshell," Calgary Herald, Jan. 1, 2005, G9. Jennifer Schuessler, "Murder in the Dollhouse," Boston Globe, Oct. 24, 2004, E.2. John Woestendiek, "Murder in Miniature," Baltimore Sun, Oct. 14, 2004, 1E. Eve Kahn, "Murder Downsized," New York Times, Oct. 7, 2004, F.1. "Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," Smithsonian American Art Museum (accessed Nov. 10, 2019). "Dollhouse Crime Scenes," CBS Sunday Morning, Jan. 14, 2018. Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, "The Tiny, Murderous World of Frances Glessner Lee," All Things Considered, National Public Radio, Nov. 18, 2017. Alison Thoet, "Photos: These Gruesome Dollhouse Death Scenes Reinvented Murder Investigations," PBS NewsHour, Nov. 20, 2017. Ann Marie Menting, "Death in a Nutshell," Harvard Medical School, Sept. 18, 2017. Corinne May Botz, "The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death" (accessed Nov. 10, 2019). Gabrielle Alberts, "This Is Where I Leave You: Unsettling Realities of a Miniature," dissertation, University of Cape Town, 2013. Ferdinand Demara as "Hospital Doctor" in The Hypnotic Eye (1960). Sources for our listener mail segment: Wikipedia, "Ferdinand Waldo Demara: Films/TV" (accessed Nov. 13, 2019). IMDb, "The Hypnotic Eye" (accessed Nov. 13, 2019). IMDb, "Fred Demara: Biography" (accessed Nov. 16, 2019). Wikipedia, "M*A*S*H (TV series)" (accessed Nov. 13, 2019). "Captain Adam Casey," The Monster M*A*S*H Wiki (accessed Nov. 13, 2019). "Dear Dad ... Again (TV series episode)," The Monster M*A*S*H Wiki (accessed Nov. 13, 2019). Brendan Michael, "Check Out Willem Dafoe Mushing in First Look Image of Disney+’s 'Togo,'" Collider, Oct. 24, 2019. IMDb, "Togo (2019)" (accessed Nov. 16, 2019). Wikipedia, "Togo (film)" (accessed Nov. 14, 2019). "'The Great Alaskan Race' Review: A Historic Sled Rescue Turned to Mush," New York Times, Oct. 24, 2019. IMDb, "The Great Alaskan Race (2019)" (accessed Nov. 16, 2019). Dennis Harvey, "Film Review: 'The Great Alaskan Race,'" Variety, Oct. 24, 2019. It Happens Every Thursday, 1953. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Dianna Gabbard. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). We're very sorry to have to say that we recently had to say goodbye to Sasha. We feel very grateful that we got to share our lives with her for over 18 years, but several days ago we learned that she had advanced bone cancer. Until quite recently she had been very active, alert, and engaged in life, so the news was rather a shock to us. The cancer wasn't treatable, and after a few days we realized that the time had come for us to have to say goodbye. She will be very missed, and no beloved pet is ever fully replaceable, but we do hope at some point in the future to find another cat that needs a good home, when we are ready. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

25 Nov 201929min

In 1909, 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsey set out to become the first woman to drive across the United States. In an era of imperfect cars and atrocious roads, she would have to find her own way and undertake her own repairs across 3,800 miles of rugged, poorly mapped terrain. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Ramsey on her historic journey. We'll also ponder the limits of free speech and puzzle over some banned candy. Intro: Journalist Henri de Blowitz received the Treaty of Berlin in the lining of a hat. In 1895 John Haberle painted a slate so realistic that viewers were tempted to use it. Sources for our feature on Alice Ramsey: Alice Ramsey and Gregory M. Franzwa, Alice's Drive: Republishing Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron, 2005. Curt McConnell, A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It: The First Coast-to-Coast Auto Trips by Women, 1899-1916, 2000. Women's Project of New Jersey, Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, 1997. Catherine Gourley, Gibson Girls and Suffragists: Perceptions of Women from 1900 to 1918, 2008. Christina E. Dando, Women and Cartography in the Progressive Era, 2017. David Holmstrom, "On the Road With Alice," American History 29:3 (July/August 1994). Don Brown and Evan Rothman, "Queen of the Road," Biography 1:2 (February 1997), 48-52. Marina Koestler Ruben, "Alice Ramsey's Historic Cross-Country Drive," Smithsonian.com, June 4, 2009. Katherine Parkin, "Alice Ramsey: Driving in New Directions," New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 4:2 (2018), 160-178. Carla Rose Lesh, "'What a Woman Can Do With an Auto': American Women in the Early Automotive Era," dissertation, State University of New York at Albany, 2010. Brandon Dye, "Girls on the Road," Autoweek 56:36 (Sept. 4, 2006), 34. Jay Levin, "Daughter of Motoring Pioneer Dies," [Bergen County, N.J.] Record, Nov. 18, 2015, L.6. Joe Blackstock, "Alice Ramsey First Woman to Cross U.S. by Car," Inland Valley [Calif.] Daily Bulletin, March 28, 2011. Robert Peele, "History That's More Than the Sum of Its Parts," New York Times, March 26, 2010. "Preservation Society Honors Historic Drive," Reno Gazette-Journal, Oct. 9, 2009. Robert Peele, "New York to San Francisco in a 1909 Maxwell DA," New York Times, July 12, 2009. Robert Peele, "Recreating a 100-Year-Old Road Trip," New York Times, June 20, 2009. Jane Palmer, "Driving Along Like It's 1909," McClatchy-Tribune Business News, June 18, 2009. Jay Levin, "The Same Trip, 100 Years Later: N.J. Mother's 1909 Milestone," [Bergen County, N.J.] Record, June 10, 2009, L.3. "Re-enacting a Ground-Breaking Journey," New York Times, June 5, 2009. Jay Levin, "Trailblazing Ride Made History: 1909 Road Trip First for a Woman," [Bergen County, N.J.] Record, March 22, 2009, L.1. "Women Transcontinentalists Nearing Chicago," Automobile Topics 8:11 (June 19, 1909), 742. David Conwill, "Alice Ramsey," Hemmings Classic Car 164 (May 2018). "Alice Ramsey," Automotive Hall of Fame (accessed Nov. 3, 2019). Guide to the Alice Huyler Ramsey Papers, 1905-1989, Vassar College (accessed Nov. 3, 2019). Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Rage (King novel)," (accessed Nov. 6, 2019). Corey Adwar, "This Stephen King Novel Will Never Be Printed Again After It Was Tied to School Shootings," Business Insider, April 1, 2014. "Vermont Library Conference/VEMA Annual Meeting: The Bogeyboys," StephenKing.com (accessed Nov. 6, 2019). Wikipedia, "Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors" (accessed Nov. 6, 2019). Wikipedia, "Paladin Press" (accessed Nov. 10, 2019). "Killer of Three Gets Reduced Sentence," Washington Times, May 17, 2001. Emilie S. Kraft, "Hit Man Manual," First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University (accessed Nov. 10, 2019). Calvin Reid, "Paladin Press Pays Millions to Settle 'Hit Man' Case," Publishers Weekly, May 31, 1999. David G. Savage, "Publisher of 'Hit Man' Manual Agrees to Settle Suit Over Triple Slaying," Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1999. Rice v. Paladin Enterprises, Inc., 128 F. 3d 233 - Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit 1997. David Montgomery, "If Books Could Kill," Washington Post, July 26, 1998. Robert W. Welkos, "Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Against Oliver Stone," Los Angeles Times, March 13, 2001. "Natural Born Killers Lawsuit Finally Thrown Out," Guardian, March 13, 2001. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Simone and her father. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

18 Nov 201932min

In 1822, Irish thief Alexander Pearce joined seven convicts fleeing a penal colony in western Tasmania. As they struggled eastward through some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, starvation pressed the party into a series of grim sacrifices. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the prisoners on their nightmarish bid for freedom. We'll also unearth another giant and puzzle over an eagle's itinerary. Intro: Two presenters at an 1884 AAAS meeting reported on "musical sand" at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. In scenes of pathos, Charles Dickens often slipped into blank verse. Sources for our feature on Alexander Pearce: Paul Collins, Hell's Gates, 2014. Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding, 2012. Robert Cox, A Compulsion to Kill: The Surprising Story of Australia's Earliest Serial Killers, 2014. Jane Stadler, Peta Mitchell, and Stephen Carleton, Imagined Landscapes: Geovisualizing Australian Spatial Narratives, 2015. "Alexander Pearce," Convict Records of Australia (accessed Oct. 27, 2019). Roger W. Byard and Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, "Cannibalism Amongst Penitentiary Escapees From Sarah Island in Nineteenth Century Van Diemen's Land," Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology 1:3 (September 2018), 410–415. Therese-Marie Meyer, "Prison Without Walls: The Tasmanian Bush in Australian Convict Novels," Antipodes 27:2 (December 2013), 143-148. Michael A. Ashby and Leigh E. Rich, "Eating People Is Wrong ... or How We Decide Morally What to Eat," Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 10:2 (June 2013), 129–131. Gananath Obeyesekere, "'British Cannibals': Contemplation of an Event in the Death and Resurrection of James Cook, Explorer," Critical Inquiry 18:4 (Summer 1992), 630-654. Craig Cormick, "Confessions of a Cannibal," MARGIN: Monash Australiana Research Group Informal Notes, Issue 62, April 2004. Cassie Crofts, "Australian History: The Cannibal Convict," National Geographic, Jan. 8, 2016. "Alexander Pearce," Australian Geographic (accessed Oct. 27, 2019). Simon Morris, "No Person Can Tell What He Will Do When Driven by Hunger," Australian Geographic 94 (April-June 2009), 74-79. "The Convict Cannibal," Australian Geographic 94 (April-June 2009), 77. Tim Kroenert, "Cannibal Convict's Tour of Hell," Eureka Street 19:18 (Sept. 25, 2009), 5-7. "John Hagan: On the Trail of a Cannibal," Belfast Telegraph, May 12, 2007, 1. Paul Kalina, "Grisly Confession of a Cannibal Convict: Cover Story," The Age, Jan. 22, 2009, 12. Christopher Bantick, "Mind of a Maneater," Sunday Tasmanian, Aug. 10, 2008, A.8. Rebecca Fitzgibbon, "Our Own Breed of Horror," Sunday Tasmanian, Nov. 2, 2008, 68. Anita Beaumont, "Cannibal Convicts: Cover Story," [Newcastle, N.S.W.] Herald, Jan. 23, 2009, 5. Fran Cusworth, "Meat on the Hoof," [Melbourne] Herald Sun, Dec. 7, 2002, W.21. "A Real Life Horror Story of the Irish Cannibal Who Terrorized Australia," IrishCentral, Oct. 4, 2018. Rebecca Fitzgibbon, "Heart of Darkness," Sunday Tasmanian, Sept. 20, 2009, 25. LJ Charleston, "'We Ate Each Other One by One': The Gruesome Story of Alexander Pearce the Cannibal Convict," news.com.au, May 5, 2019. Greg Clarke, "Heavenly Signs at Gates to Hell," Sunday Tasmanian, Aug. 3, 2008, A.18. "Colonial Crime: Alexander Pearce, the Cannibal," Nightlife, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Dec. 20, 2018. "Alexander Pearce (1790 - 1824)," WikiTree (accessed Nov. 1, 2019). Listener mail: A. Glenn Rogers, "The Taughannock Giant," Life in the Finger Lakes, 1953. Charley Githler, "A Look Back At: Home-Grown Hoax: The Taughannock Giant," [Ithaca, N.Y.] Tompkins Weekly, Dec. 26, 2017. Charley Githler, "Local Legend: The Taughannock Giant," Ithaca.com, June 15, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Sharon. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

11 Nov 201931min

In 1902, scam artist Cassie Chadwick convinced an Ohio lawyer that she was the illegitimate daughter of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. She parlayed this reputation into a life of unthinkable extravagance -- until her debts came due. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Chadwick's efforts to maintain the ruse -- and how she hoped to get away with it. We'll also encounter a haunted tomb and puzzle over an exonerated merchant. Intro: Inventor Otis L. Boucher offered a steel suit for soldiers during World War I. The tippe top leaps up onto its stem when spun. Sources for our feature on Cassie Chadwick: Kerry Segrave, Women Swindlers in America, 1860-1920, 2014. Alan F. Dutka, Misfortune on Cleveland's Millionaires' Row, 2015. George C. Kohn, The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal, 2001. William Henry Theobald, Defrauding the Government: True Tales of Smuggling, From the Note-book of a Confidential Agent of the United States Treasury, 1908. Karen Abbott, "The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance," Smithsonian.com, June 27, 2012. "Chadwick, Cassie L.," Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (accessed Oct. 20, 2019). Lindsay Kernohan, "Cassie Chadwick: A Very Double Life," Strathroy [Ontario] Age Dispatch, May 17, 2018, A7. Sadie Stein, "Impostors Among Us," Town and Country, February 2017. "Top 10 Imposters," Time, May 26, 2009. "Mrs. Chadwick Measured," Poughkeepsie Journal, Dec. 30, 2004, C.1. "Femme Fatale," D&B Reports 40:4 (July/August 1992), 47. "Cassie Chadwick's Jewels," The Bankers Magazine 106:3 (March 1923), 551. Arthur B. Reeve, "New and Old South Sea Bubbles," World's Work 41:1 (November 1920), 31-35. C.P. Connolly, "Marvelous Cassie Chadwick," McClure's Magazine 48:1 (November 1916), 9-11, 65-71. Walter Prichard Eaton, "The Gullible Rich," Munsey's Magazine 46:3 (December 1911), 335-340. "Cassie Chadwick Fretted Life Away in Ohio Prison," Cañon City [Colo.] Record 30:42 (October 17, 1907), 12. "Cassie Chadwick Dies in Prison," New York Times, Oct. 11, 1907. "Mrs. Chadwick Broken Down," Chickasha [Indian Territory] Daily Express, Feb. 19, 1907. "Mrs. Chadwick's Sentence," New York Times, March 28, 1905. "Carnegie Sees Note; Laughs at Bad Spelling of Chadwick Trust Agreement," New York Times, March 6, 1905. "Mr. Carnegie on Hand for Chadwick Trial," New York Times, March 5, 1905. "Chadwick Indictments," New York Times, Feb. 22, 1905. "Motion to Quash," St. John Daily Sun, Feb. 28, 1905. "Tracing Chadwick Satchel," New York Times, Dec. 22, 1904. "Nearly Collapsed in Court," [Fredericksburg, Va.] Daily Star, Dec. 19, 1904. "Meeting Dramatic," Associated Press, Dec. 16, 1904. "Chadwick Paper Out Is Over $19,000,000," New York Times, Dec. 11, 1904. "Trail of Mrs. Chadwick," Carroll [Iowa] Herald, Dec. 7, 1904. Listener mail: C.H. Shanan, "The Haunted Tomb," Wide World Magazine 35:207 (July 1915), 281-285. (Listener Peter Atwood found this story through the podcast Reading, Short and Deep, Episode 188.) Wikipedia, "The Wide World Magazine" (accessed Oct. 26, 2019). "The Wide World Magazine," The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia (accessed Oct. 23, 2019). "Biography: The Boer War," The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia (accessed Oct. 23, 2019). Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Arthur Conan Doyle" (accessed Oct. 23, 2019). "Govt Mulling Over 1400-km Long Great 'Green Wall' to Tackle Land Desertification," News 18 India, Oct. 9, 2019. Vishwa Mohan, "Government Plans 1,400km Long Great 'Green Wall' of India," Times of India, Oct. 9, 2019. Aryn Baker, "Can a 4,815-Mile Wall of Trees Help Curb Climate Change in Africa?", Time, Sept. 12, 2019. Tony Hoare, "Null References: The Billion Dollar Mistake," QCon 2009. Wikipedia, "Tony Hoare" (accessed Oct. 23, 2019). The Chambers Dictionary. Chambers' 500 entertaining words. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Greg. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

4 Nov 201932min

In 1978, two luminaries of South Korean cinema were abducted by Kim Jong-Il and forced to make films in North Korea in an outlandish plan to improve his country's fortunes. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok and their dramatic efforts to escape their captors. We'll also examine Napoleon's wallpaper and puzzle over an abandoned construction. Intro: In 1891, Robert Baden-Powell encoded the locations of Dalmatian forts in innocent drawings of butterflies. Legal scholar Mark V. Tushnet suggests how a 16-year-old might seek the presidency. Sources for our feature on Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok: Paul Fischer, A Kim Jong-Il Production, 2015. Johannes Schönherr, North Korean Cinema: A History, 2012. Steven Chung, Split Screen Korea: Shin Sang-ok and Postwar Cinema, 2014. Bradley K. Martin, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, 2007. "Choi Eun-hee: South Korean Actress Who Was Kidnapped by North Dies," BBC, April 17, 2018. Martin Belam, "Choi Eun-hee, Actor Once Abducted by North Korea, Dies," Guardian, April 17, 2018. "A Hong Kong Kidnap: How Kim Jong-il Had South Korea's Top Actress Abducted From Repulse Bay," South China Morning Post, March 25, 2015. "Famed South Korean Actress Choi Eun-Hee, Who Was Abducted by North Korean Spies in Hong Kong for Film Fan Kim Jong-Il, Dies Aged 91," South China Morning Post, April 17, 2018. Olivier Holmey, "Remembering Choi Eun-hee, the South Korean Film Actor Once Abducted by Pyongyang," Independent, May 14, 2018. Ilana Kaplan, "Choi Eun-Hee Dead: South Korean Actress Once Kidnapped by North Korea Dies Aged 92," Independent, April 17, 2018. Barbara Demick, "Secret Tape Recordings of Kim Jong Il Provide Rare Insight Into the Psyche of His North Korean Regime," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 27, 2016. Euan McKirdy, "South Korean Actress and Former North Korean Abductee Choi Eun-Hee Dies," CNN, April 17, 2018. Julian Ryall, "The Incredible Life Story of Actress Choi Eun-Hee, Abducted by North Korea and Forced to Make Films for Kim Jong-il," Telegraph, April 17, 2018. Nicolas Levi, "Kim Jong Il: A Film Director Who Ran a Country," Journal of Modern Science 25:2 (2015), 155-166. Choe Sang-Hun, "Obituary: Shin Sang Ok, 80, Korean Film Director," New York Times, April 12, 2006. Douglas Martin, "Shin Sang Ok, 80, Korean Film Director Abducted by Dictator, Is Dead," New York Times, April 13, 2006. Alexandra Alter, "North Korea’s Love-Hate of Movies," New York Times, Dec. 31, 2014. Peter Maass, "The Last Emperor," New York Times, Oct. 19, 2003. Chris Knight, "Kim Jong-il's Bizarre Interlude in the Movies," Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 30, 2016, E.5. "A Memoir: Shin Sang-ok, Choi Eun-hee and I," Korea Times, Oct. 5, 2016. "Choi Eun-hee: Beautiful Actress and Doyenne of Postwar South Korean Films Before Her Kidnap by North Korea Where She Lived in a Gilded Cage," Times, June 4, 2018, 48. Ronald Bergan, "Obituary: Shin Sang-Ok: South Korean Film Director Whose Life Read Like the Plot of a Far-Fetched Thriller," Guardian, April 19, 2006, 34. Lawrence Levi, "Lights, Camera, Kidnap," Newsday, Feb. 8, 2015, C.17. "The Incredible Life Story of Actress Choi Eun-hee, Abducted by North Korea and Forced to Make Films for Kim Jong-il," Telegraph, April 17, 2018. An Hong-Kyoon, "More Dramatic Than Movie," Korea Times, Oct. 6, 2016. Hannah McGill, "Acting in the Dictator's Cut," Independent, March 14, 2015, 22. Olivier Holmey, "South Korean Film Actor Abducted by Pyongyang," Independent, May 16, 2018, 36. Peter Keough, "How Kim Jong-il Got What He Wanted," Boston Globe, Sept. 23, 2016, G.8. Peter Keough, "That Time Kim Jong-il Kidnapped His Favorite Movie Star and Director," Boston Globe, Sept. 21, 2016, G.8. Khang Hyun-sung, "Director's Colourful Life Competed With His Cinematic Creations," South China Morning Post, April 15, 2006, 11. Jennifer Hunter, "The Stranger-Than-Fiction Abduction of a Director and His Star," Toronto Star, Jan. 31, 2015, IN.3. "Obituary of Shin Sang-ok," Daily Telegraph, May 6, 2006. Tim Robey, "Losing the Plot: Kim Jong-il Was So Set on Film-Making He Kidnapped Two South Korean Stars," Daily Telegraph, Feb. 28, 2015, 30. Here's Pulgasari, the monster movie that got Shin and Choi to Vienna. In the West it's regarded as a dud. "Pulgasari marked a turn in Shin's career, the first time he had put all his energy into a picture and created a stinker," writes Paul Fischer. "It was a sudden, inexplicable transformation, after which Shin never recovered his magic touch." Listener mail: Ted Chamberlain, "Napoleon Death Mystery Solved, Experts Say," National Geographic, Jan. 17, 2007. "Napoleon Death: Arsenic Poisoning Ruled Out," Live Science, Feb. 12, 2008. "Was Napoleon Poisoned?", American Museum of Natural History, Jan. 21, 2014. J. Thomas Hindmarsh and John Savory, "The Death of Napoleon, Cancer or Arsenic?", Clinical Chemistry 54:12 (2008), 2092-2093. William J. Broad, "Hair Analysis Deflates Napoleon Poisoning Theories," New York Times, June 10, 2008. Max Finkel, "Instead of a Ticket, Some Speeders in Estonia Are Getting a Time Out," Jalopnik, Sept. 28, 2019. Jonathan Schultz, "Speed Camera Lottery Wins VW Fun Theory Contest," New York Times, Nov. 30, 2010. Elizabeth Haggarty, "Speed Camera Lottery Pays Drivers for Slowing Down," Toronto Star, Dec. 9, 2010. DDB, "DDB's Fun Theory for Volkswagen Takes Home Cannes Cyber Grand Prix," June 25, 2010. Wikipedia, "Radar Speed Sign: Effectiveness," (accessed Oct. 19, 2019). "The Speed Camera Lottery - The Fun Theory," Rolighetsteorin, Nov. 12, 2010. Volkswagen, "The Fun Theory 1 – Piano Staircase Initiative," Oct. 26, 2009. Elle Hunt, "Cash Converters: Could This Dutch Scheme Stop Drivers Speeding?", Guardian, May 25, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

28 Okt 201934min