333-Stranded in the Kimberley

In 1950, four patriotic Scots broke in to Westminster Abbey to steal the Stone of Scone, a symbol of Scottish independence that had lain there for 600 years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the memorable events of that evening and their meaning for the participants, their nation, and the United Kingdom. We'll also evade a death ray and puzzle over Santa's correspondence. Intro: In the 1920s Massachusetts mechanical engineer Elis Stenman fashioned a house out of pressed newspaper. Julijonas Urbonas' Euthanasia Coaster is designed to kill its riders. Sources for our story on the Stone of Scone: Ian Hamilton, The Taking of the Stone of Destiny, 1991. Warwick Rodwell, The Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone, 2013. Ian Hamilton, "How We Stole the Stone of Scone," Life, May 14, 1951, 141-153. Antonia Kearton, "Imagining the 'Mongrel Nation': Political Uses of History in the Recent Scottish Nationalist Movement," National Identities 7:1 (March 2005), 23-50. H.J. Hanham, "The Scottish Nation Faces the Post-Imperial World," International Journal 23:4 (December 1, 1968). "Stone of Scone Thief Questions," Times, Dec. 21, 2015, 8. Victoria Ward, "Stone of Scone 'Should Not Automatically Be Loaned to England for Next Coronation,'" Telegraph, Dec. 20, 2015. "Kay Matheson: Obituaries Teacher and Ardent Nationalist Who Helped 'Reclaim' the Stone of Scone From Westminster Abbey," Daily Telegraph, July 15, 2013, 25. "Woman Who Took Stone of Destiny Back to Scotland Dies," BBC News, July 8, 2013. Olga Craig, "Ian Hamilton on Stone of Destiny: I Felt I Was Holding Scotland's Soul," Telegraph, Dec. 14, 2008. Auslan Cramb, "Stone of Destiny Is Fake, Claims Alex Salmond," Telegraph, June 16, 2008. Gillian Bowditch, "Stone Reunion in Hamilton's Destiny," Sunday Times, Nov. 4, 2007, 5. "Obituary of Gavin Vernon," Daily Telegraph, March 26, 2004, 29. "Took Part in Stone of Scone Theft," Montreal Gazette, March 26, 2004, E8. Joanne Laucius, "Repatriation of Stone of Scone Is a Story Prankster Scotsman Gavin Vernon Brought to Canada and Leaves Behind Upon His Death," CanWest News, March 25, 2004, 1. Jim Gilchrist, "Stone That Stole Nation's Heart," Scotsman, Dec. 9, 2000, 11. Michael Fry, "A Dark Date With Destiny," [Glasgow] Herald, Sept. 2, 1999, 19. Jack O'Sullivan, "Where Does the Real Stone of Scone Lie?", Independent, July 9, 1999. Michael White, "Stone of Scone Going Home After 700 Years," Guardian, July 4, 1996. Gillian Bowditch, "Unsolved Riddle of the Real Relic," Times, July 4, 1996, 1. Archibald Rollo, "The Christmas They Stole the Stone of Destiny," Vancouver Sun, Dec. 24, 1993, E1. "London Police Foil Effort to Take Stone of Scone," New York Times, Sept. 5, 1974. "Stone of Scone Put Back in Royal Chair in Abbey," New York Times, June 2, 1953. "Stone of Scone Guarded; Scotland Yard Takes Precaution at Westminster Abbey," New York Times, Dec. 26, 1952. "Scots Call for Stone of Scone," New York Times, April 28, 1952. "Medieval Tourney Urged," New York Times, March 29, 1952. "Stone of Scone Restored Quietly," New York Times, Feb. 27, 1952. "Stone of Scone Case Off," Associated Press, April 20, 1951. "Coronation Stone Back in London," New York Times, April 14, 1951. "Scots Press Drive to Keep Stone of Scone," New York Times, April 13, 1951. Clifton Daniel, "Scots Surrender Stone of Scone," New York Times, April 12, 1951. Clifton Daniel, "Stone of Scone Thieves Traced, But Scotland Yard Delays Arrests," New York Times, April 3, 1951. "Clue to Stone of Scone," New York Times, Feb. 1, 1951. "Stone Clue Stirs Scots," New York Times, Dec. 31, 1950. "Scotch on the Rock," New York Times, Dec. 31, 1950. "New 'Confession' in Stone of Scone Theft," New York Times, Dec. 30, 1950. "London Lake Is Dragged," New York Times, Dec. 29, 1950. "Wristwatch Held Abbey Theft Clue," New York Times, Dec. 28, 1950. "The Stone of Scone," New York Times, Dec. 27, 1950. "Theft of Stone of Scone Still Puzzle as Police Uncover Only 3 Initials," New York Times, Dec. 27, 1950. "Coronation Stone Is Stolen From Westminster Abbey," New York Times, Dec. 26, 1950. P.J. Philip, "Coronation Stone Is Back in Westminster," New York Times, April 9, 1946. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Sarah T. Hughes" (accessed Dec. 8, 2018). Wikipedia, "First Inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson" (accessed Dec. 8, 2018). Wikipedia, "Calvin Coolidge: Presidency" (accessed Dec. 10, 2018). Harry Rosehill, "The Walkie Talkie Death Ray Could Actually Have Killed Someone," Londonist, Nov. 23, 2018. Jiajie Zhu, Wolfram Jahn, and Guillermo Rein, "Computer Simulation of Sunlight Concentration Due to Façade Shape: Application to the 2013 Death Ray at Fenchurch Street, London," Journal of Building Performance Simulation, Nov. 22, 2018. Sixty Symbols, "How to Melt Cars and BBQ Pigeons," Sept. 4, 2013. Rose Palazzolo, "British Sculpture Could Fry Birds," ABC News, March 7, 2018. Davidson Institute, "Solar Furnace," Dec. 25, 2014 (turn on "CC" to see English captions). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Sharon based on an item in Dan Lewis' Now I Know newsletter. Here are three 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!

17 Dec 201830min

Polish educator Janusz Korczak set out to remake the world just as it was falling apart. In the 1930s his Warsaw orphanage was an enlightened society run by the children themselves, but he struggled to keep that ideal alive as Europe descended into darkness. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the children's champion and his sacrifices for the orphans he loved. We'll also visit an incoherent space station and puzzle over why one woman needs two cars. Intro: Elbert Hubbard and his wife decided on a final gesture aboard the sinking Lusitania. E.E. Cummings dedicated his 1935 collection of poetry to the 14 publishing houses that rejected it. Sources for our story on Janusz Korczak: Betty Jean Lifton, The King of Children, 1988. Adir Cohen, The Gate of Light, 1994. E.P. Kulawiec, ed., The Warsaw Ghetto Memoirs of Janusz Korczak, 1979. Marc Silverman, A Pedagogy of Humanist Moral Education: The Educational Thought of Janusz Korczak, 2017. Susan J. Berger, "The Children's Advocate: Janusz Korczak," American Educational History Journal 33:2 (2006), 137-142. Robert Leiter, "For the Sake of Children," Jewish Exponent, April 6, 2000, 59. Liba H. Engel, "Does School Reform Have Legs? The Flourishing of Janusz Korczak's Pedagogy in Modern Israel," Educational Forum 68:2 (Winter 2004), 170-179. Reinhold Boschki, "Re-Reading Martin Buber and Janusz Korczak: Fresh Impulses Toward a Relational Approach to Religious Education," Religious Education 100:2 (Spring 2005), 114-126. Liba H. Engel, "Experiments in Democratic Education: Dewey's Lab School and Korczak's Children's Republic," Social Studies 99:3 (May/June 2008), 117-121. Robert Leiter, "'Who Is That Man?' In the End, He Was the Comforter of Lost Children," Jewish Exponent, June 10, 2004, 32. Daniel Feldman, "Honoring the Child's Right to Respect: Janusz Korczak as Holocaust Educator," The Lion and the Unicorn 40:2 (April 2016), 129-143. Martha J. Ignaszewski, Kevin Lichtenstein, and Maya Ignaszewski, "Dr. Janusz Korczak and His Legacy," British Columbia Medical Journal 55:2 (March 2013), 108-110. Gabriel Eichsteller, "Janusz Korczak -- His Legacy and Its Relevance for Children's Rights Today," International Journal of Children's Rights 17:3 (July 2009), 377-391. Sara Efrat Efron, "Moral Education Between Hope and Hopelessness: The Legacy of Janusz Korczak," Curriculum Inquiry 38:1 (January 2008), 39-62. Aleksander Lewin and Agnieszka Bolczynska, "Janusz Korczak Is Greater Than His Legend: The Saint of All Creeds," Dialogue & Universalism 11:9/10 (2001), 75. Marie Syrkin, "The Saint in the Ghetto," New Republic 198:23 (June 6, 1988), 44. Yerachmiel Weingarten, "Janusz Korczak -- Living Legend of Warsaw," Canadian Jewish Chronicle, Dec. 8, 1944. Vivian Eden, "Korczak Controversy," Jerusalem Post, April 14, 1989, 7. Amy O'Brian, "Exhibit Honours Hero of the Holocaust," Vancouver Sun, Oct. 21, 2002, B2. Eva Hoffman, "My Hero: Janusz Korczak," Guardian, April 8, 2011. James MacDonald, "Himmler Program Kills Polish Jews," New York Times, Nov. 25, 1942. Gabrielle Glaser, "Warsaw Journal; Where Children Are Taught Survival," New York Times, May 30, 1992. Vincent Canby, "Of a Saintly Jewish Doctor in Poland Who Died at Treblinka," New York Times, April 12, 1991. Betty Jean Lifton, "Wajda's 'Korczak'; Human Values, Inhuman Time," New York Times, May 5, 1991. Stephen Engelberg, "Wajda's 'Korczak' Sets Loose the Furies," New York Times, April 14, 1991. Carolyn A. Murphy, "The King of Children," New York Times, Aug. 21, 1988. Geoffrey Wolff, "A Saint's Life in Warsaw," New York Times, July 31, 1988. Betty Jean Lifton, "Shepherd of the Ghetto Orphans," New York Times, April 20, 1980. James Feron, "Awarding of a West German Peace Prize Stirs Memories of a Wartime Martyr of the Warsaw Ghetto," New York Times, Oct. 1, 1972. "Parenting Advice From a Polish Holocaust Hero," Weekend All Things Considered, NPR, March 3, 2007. Listener mail: Annalee Newitz, "Movie Written by Algorithm Turns Out to Be Hilarious and Intense," Ars Technica, June 9, 2016. Dyllan Furness, "'Sunspring' Is an Absurd Sci-Fi Short Film Written By AI, Starring Thomas Middleditch," Digital Trends, June 10, 2016. Jacob Brogan, "An Artificial Intelligence Scripted This Short Film, But Humans Are Still the Real Stars," Slate, June 9, 2016. Amanda Kooser, "AI-Written Film 'Sunspring' a Surreal Delight, Upchucked Eyeball Included," CNET, June 13, 2016. "HAL 90210," "This Is What Happens When an AI-Written Screenplay Is Made Into a Film," Guardian, June 10, 2016. Max Woolf, "I trained an (actual) AI on the titles of BuzzFeed YouTube videos and it generated some *interesting* results," Twitter, Nov. 19, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener B Vann. 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!

10 Dec 201833min

In the late 1800s Chicago families bought their Christmas trees from the decks of schooners that had ferried them across Lake Michigan. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet Herman Schuenemann, known as "Captain Santa," who brought Christmas to the city for 30 years until a fateful storm overtook him. We'll also peruse some possums and puzzle over a darkening phone. Intro: In 1991 a Yale physician proposed naming toes. No one's quite sure how cats navigate. Photo: Herman Schuenemann, center, with W.K. Vanaman, left, and a Mr. Colberg aboard a Christmas tree ship in the Chicago River, 1909. Sources for our story: Fred Neuschel, Lives & Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships, 2007. Larry Peterson, "The Legend of the Christmas Ship," Wisconsin Magazine of History 96:2 (Winter 2012/2013), 28-39. Glenn V. Longacre, "The Christmas Tree Ship," Prologue 38:4 (Winter 2006), 6-12. Shannon Marie Lange, Chicago Shipwrecks: Disasters and Their Impact on Maritime Law, dissertation, Southern New Hampshire University, 2017. Fred Neuschel, "Sailors as Entrepreneurs in a Great Lakes Maritime Village," Northern Mariner 8 (1998), 65-82. Fred Hollister, "Loss of the Christmas Tree Schooner," Sea Classics 39:5 (May 2006), 50-55. Amy Meyer, "Rouse Simmons Mystery Still Relevant," [Manitowoc, Wis.] Herald Times Reporter, Nov. 1, 2015. Kevin Collier, "Is 'Christmas Tree Ship' a Ghost of Christmas Past?" TCA Regional News, Dec. 22, 2014. "Lake Michigan Almost Canceled Christmas," Battle Creek [Mich.] Enquirer, Nov. 30, 2014. Doug Moe, "Film Tells Tale of Christmas Tree Ship," Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 29, 2013. John Gurda, "'Christmas Tree Ship' Went Down on the Lake 100 Years Ago," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 1, 2012. Meg Jones, "Events Mark 100 Year Anniversary of Sinking of Christmas Tree Ship," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov. 22, 2012. Jordan Tilkens, "Centennial Celebration Commemorates Sunken Ship," [Appleton, Wis.] Post-Crescent, Nov. 22, 2012. Jordan Tilkens, "Two Rivers Museum Marks 100th Anniversary of 'Christmas Tree Ship' Sinking," Green Bay [Wis.] Press Gazette, Nov. 21, 2012. Tony Trowbridge, "When the Christmas Spirit Foundered in Chicago," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 11, 2012. Kristopher Wenn, "Smaller Stories Fill Christmas Tree Ship's History," [Manitowoc, Wis.] Herald Times, Nov. 18, 2007. Dennis McCann, "Christmas Tree Ship Surfaces in Memory," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov. 12, 2006. Mike Michaelson, "Algoma Remembers 19th-Century Christmas Tree Ships," [Arlington Heights, Ill.] Daily Herald, Nov. 21, 2004. Susan Smith, "89 Years Later ... ; Legend of Famed But Ill-Fated Christmas Tree Ship Revived," Wisconsin State Journal, Dec. 2, 2001. "Coast Guard Re-Enacts 'Christmas Tree' Voyages," Associated Press, Dec. 4, 2000. David Young, "The Fir Trade Separating Fact From Legend in Loss of Christmas Tree Ship," Chicago Tribune, Dec. 26, 1999. David Young, "A Tall Order Milwaukee Schooner Being Built to Meet a Solid Heritage," Chicago Tribune, Oct. 4, 1998. Margaret H. Plevak, "The Ship That Never Arrived Schooner Loaded With Yule Trees Vanished in Lake," Milwaukee Journal, Dec. 8, 1992. "Large Christmas Tree Crop," Michigan Manufacturer & Financial Record 14:24 (Dec. 12, 1914), 27. "Heart to Heart Talks," Successful Farming 12:12 (December 1913), 81. "Chicago Notes," Horticulture 18:18 (Nov. 1, 1913), 611. "Christmas Tree in Crepe; Mourning Recalls to Chicagoans Death of Lake Captain and Crew," New York Times, Dec. 26, 1912. "Has Christmas Tree Widow; Chicago to Be Supplied with Firs, Despite Schooner's Wreck," New York Times, Dec. 11, 1912. "Had Fifteen on Board," Lemmon [S.D.] Herald, Dec. 6, 1912. "Christmas Tree Ship Lost; Wreckage of Old Schooner Washed Ashore in Lake Michigan," New York Times, Dec. 5, 1912. "Vessel With 15 Men Lost," Rock Island [Ill.] Argus, Dec. 4, 1912. "To Greet Santa Claus," Fruit Trade Journal and Produce Record 46:10 (Dec. 9, 1911), 6. "Notes," American Florist 35:1174 (Dec. 3, 1910), 937. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Opossum" (accessed Nov. 21, 2018). Wikipedia, "Powhatan Language" (accessed Nov. 21, 2018). Ann Gibbons, "Why 536 Was 'The Worst Year to Be Alive,'" Science, Nov. 15, 2018. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days: The Standard of Truth: 1815–1846, 2018. "Downing Street's Larry the Cat Gets a Helping Hand From Police," BBC News, Nov. 20, 2018. "Hilarious Moment Downing Street Policeman Knocks on Number 10 to Let Larry Cat In," Sun, Nov. 20, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Scott Richards. 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!

3 Dec 201832min

America's first national sports spectacle took place in 1823, when the North and South sent their best horses for a single dramatic race that came to symbolize the regional tensions of a changing nation. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Great Match Race, which laid the foundations of modern American thoroughbred racing. We'll also ponder a parasite's contribution to culture and puzzle over a misinformed criminal. Intro: Quentin Tarantino's cast and crew left greetings to his editor in their work. The first subject in Anton Reicha's Fugue No. 18 is a single note repeated 34 times. Sources for our feature on the Great Match Race: John Eisenberg, The Great Match Race, 2006. Nancy L. Struna, "The North-South Races: American Thoroughbred Racing in Transition, 1823-1850," Journal of Sport History 8:2 (Summer 1981), 28-57. Paul E. Johnson, "Northern Horse: American Eclipse as a Representative New Yorker," Journal of the Early Republic 33:4 (Winter 2013), 701-726. Katherine Carmines Mooney, Race Horse Men: Slavery and Freedom at the Nineteenth-Century Racetrack, dissertation, Yale University, 2012. Richard Nash, "Joy and Pity: Reading Animal Bodies in Late Eighteenth-Century Culture," Eighteenth Century 52:1 (Spring 2011), 47-67. Michael S. Rosenwald, "Before Justify, There Was Eclipse and a Horse-Racing War Between North And South," Washington Post, May 19, 2018. Oswald West, "Famous Horses and Horsemen of the Pioneer Period," Oregon Historical Quarterly 46:2 (June 1945), 140-155. C.C. Colden, "The Great Match Race Between Eclipse and Sir Henry," Frank Forester's Horse and Horsemanship, 1857, 184-194. Max Farrand, "The Great Race -- Eclipse Against the World!" Scribner's Magazine 70:4 (October 1921), 457-464. "The Match Race," The Port Folio 16:255 (July 1823), 81-83. W.E. Beard, "The War of the Roses," Trotwood's Monthly 3:2 (November 1906), 178-189. "The Running Turf in America," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 241:41 (June 1870), 91-97. Famous Horses of America, 1877. James Douglas Anderson and Balie Peyton, Making the American Thoroughbred, 1916. Listener mail: Kevin D. Lafferty, "Can the Common Brain Parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, Influence Human Culture?" Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 273:1602 (2006), 2749-2755. Jaroslav Flegr, "Influence of Latent Toxoplasma Infection on Human Personality, Physiology and Morphology: Pros and Cons of the Toxoplasma–Human Model in Studying the Manipulation Hypothesis," Journal of Experimental Biology 216:1 (2013), 127-133. Jaroslav Flegr, Marek Preiss, and Jirí Klose, "Toxoplasmosis-Associated Difference in Intelligence and Personality in Men Depends on Their Rhesus Blood Group but Not Abo Blood Group," PLoS One 8:4 (2013), e61272. M. Novotná et al. "Toxoplasma and Reaction Time: Role of Toxoplasmosis in the Origin, Preservation and Geographical Distribution of Rh Blood Group Polymorphism," Parasitology 135:11 (2008), 1253-1261. Jaroslav Flegr et al. "Neurophysiological Effect of the Rh Factor: Protective Role of the RhD Molecule Against Toxoplasma-Induced Impairment of Reaction Times in Women," Neuroendocrinology Letters 29:4 (2008), 475. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener John Levine. 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!

26 Nov 201835min

When Toronto attorney Charles Vance Millar died in 1926, he left behind a mischievous will that promised a fortune to the woman who gave birth to the most children in the next 10 years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Great Stork Derby and the hope and controversy it brought to Toronto's largest families during the Great Depression. We'll also visit some Portuguese bats and puzzle over a suspicious work crew. Intro: The programming language Shakespeare produces code that reads like a stage play. In a qualification round for the 1994 Caribbean Cup, Barbados and Grenada seemed to switch sides. Sources for our feature on the Great Stork Derby: Mark M. Orkin, The Great Stork Derby, 1982. In Re Estate of Charles Millar (1937), [1938] 1 D.L.R. 65 (Supreme Court of Canada). Chris Bateman, "Historicist: The Great Stork Derby," Torontoist, Oct. 29, 2016. David Goldenberg, "How a Dead Millionaire Convinced Dozens of Women to Have as Many Babies as Possible," Five Thirty Eight, Dec. 11, 2015. Adam Bunch, "The Great Toronto Stork Derby — Why the City Went Baby Crazy During the Great Depression," Spacing Magazine, July 23, 2013. Steuart Henderson Britt, "The Significance of the Last Will and Testament," Journal of Social Psychology 8:3 (August 1937), 347-353. Peter Edwards, "1926 Will Sparked Toronto's Great 'Stork Derby,'" Toronto Star, Sept. 9, 2006. "Big Family, Big Prize," Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 17, 2002. Douglas J. Johnston, "Will Power," The Beaver 81:4 (August/September 2001), 37-39. Marty Gervais, "Stork Derby of '26 Meant to Tweak Beaks of Clergy," Windsor Star, June 23, 2000. Craig Zawada, "Dumb Moments in Legal History," Saskatchewan Business 20:6 (Nov. 1, 1999), 7. Pat MacAdam, "The Mischievous Will: Toronto the Good Left Shaken by Staid Lawyer's Quirky Last Wishes," Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 2, 1999. John Picton, "Lawyer's Will Started Baby Boom," Toronto Star, Feb. 26, 1989. Kathleen Walker, "Stork Derby Strangest of Lawyer's Bequests," Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 14, 1981. Susan Schwartz, "Prim Toronto Was Site of Baby Race," Montreal Gazette, Dec. 9, 1981. "Mrs. Annie Smith," New York Times, Jan. 21, 1948. "Toronto Bequest Provides for Second 'Stork Derby,'" New York Times, March 12, 1946. "Stork Derby Victors Lonely for Children," New York Times, July 6, 1938. "Topics of the Times," New York Times, June 1, 1938. "Last of 'Stork Derby'?", Ottawa Evening Citizen, May 31, 1938. "'Stork Derby' Winners Paid," New York Times, May 30, 1938. "Stork Derby' Prize Awarded 4 Women," New York Times, March 20, 1938. "Justice 'Troubled' in Baby Derby Plea," New York Times, Feb. 27, 1938. "Four Mothers of Nine Win Shares in $500,000 Stork Derby Cash," New York Times, Feb. 13, 1938. "Has Her 12th Baby," New York Times, Jan. 6, 1938. "Stork Derby' Will Upheld on Appeal," New York Times, Dec. 23, 1937. "Toronto Baby Race Upheld on Appeal," New York Times, Feb. 24, 1937. "Lady Astor Declares Stork Derby 'Horror,'" New York Times, Nov. 29, 1936. "Stork Derby Will Upheld by Court," New York Times, Nov. 21, 1936. "'Baby Clause' Held Valid in Millar Will," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nov. 19, 1936. "Ruling on Stork Promised in Week," New York Times, Nov. 17, 1936. "Dr. Hayne Thinks Toronto Mothers in 'Piker' Class," [Spartanburg, S.C.] Herald-Journal, Nov. 4, 1936. "Stork Derby 'Winner' Offers to Split Prize," New York Times, Nov. 2, 1936. "Birth Derby Ends; 6 Mothers in 'Tie,'" New York Times, Nov. 1, 1936. "Reaper at Finish Line in Baby Race," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Oct. 30, 1936. "'Stork Derby' Will Is Attacked by Kin," New York Times, Oct. 29, 1936. "Foul Is Claimed in Baby Derby," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Oct. 27, 1936. "Stork Derby Rule Taken by Premier," New York Times, Oct. 24, 1936. "To Fight Baby Derby Fund," New York Times, Oct. 16, 1936. "Threats in 'Baby Derby,'" New York Times, Aug. 30, 1936. "Another Baby Enters $500,000 Stork Derby," New York Times, Aug. 18, 1936. "12 in Toronto Stork Race, Parents of 89, Join Party," New York Times, Aug. 1, 1936. "Mrs. Kenny Leads in Stork Derby," Nashua [N.H.] Telegraph, Feb. 6, 1936. "'Dark Horse' in 'Stork Derby' Now Believes in Birth Control," Milwaukee Journal, Nov. 29, 1935. Phillis Griffiths, "Stork Derby Field Scorns Split Prize," New York Times, Sept. 15, 1935. "$500,000 Carried by Toronto Stork," New York Times, Sept. 8, 1935. "Toronto 'Baby' Will Safe," New York Times, Sept. 7, 1935. "12 in Toronto Stork Race, Parents of 89, Join Party," New York Times, Aug. 1, 1936. "The Commonwealth: Birth Race," Time, Dec. 20, 1926. Listener mail: "I Met a Celebrity at the London Openhouse!! Lord Palmerston, The Fuzzy," Reddit London, Sept. 24, 2018. Rachel Nuwer, "Bats Act As Pest Control at Two Old Portuguese Libraries," Smithsonian.com, Sept. 19, 2013. Julie H. Case, "These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats -- and They Like It That Way," Smithsonian.com, June 7, 2018. Patricia Kowsmann, "The Bats Help Preserve Old Books But They Drive Librarians, Well, Batty," Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2018. Universidade de Coimbra Library. Christina Caron, "Zanesville Animal Massacre Included 18 Rare Bengal Tigers," ABC News, Oct. 19, 2011. Kathy Thompson, "Ohio Exotic Animal Owner Speaks Out 1st Time Since Ordeal," [Zanesville, Ohio] Times Recorder, Oct. 18, 2012. "William Walker: Diver Who Saved Winchester Cathedral Remembered," BBC News, Oct. 6, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listeners Wil, Cassidy, and Sydney, inspired by an item on 99 Percent Invisible (warning -- this link 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!

19 Nov 201831min

Lyudmila Pavlichenko was training for a career as a history teacher when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. She suspended her studies to enlist as a sniper in the Red Army, where she discovered a remarkable talent for shooting enemy soldiers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of "Lady Death," the deadliest female sniper in history. We'll also learn where in the world futility.closet.podcast is and puzzle over Air Force One. Intro: Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes creates a host of puzzles in the philosophy of art. German architect Herman Sörgel wanted to dam the Congo to create two African seas. Sources for our feature on Lyudmila Pavlichenko: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper, 2018. Roger Reese, "Soviet Women at War," Military History 28:1 (May 2011), 44-53,5. Drew Lindsay, "Why Not Send Women to War?" MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 25:3 (Spring 2013), 50-55, 58-61. Karl E. Friedl, "Biases of the Incumbents: What If We Were Integrating Men Into a Women's Army?" Military Review 96:2 (March/April 2016), 69-75. Jonathan W. Jordan, "Master of the Long Rifle," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 18:4 (Summer 2006), 49-53. D'Ann Campbell, "Women in Combat: The World War II Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union," Journal of Military History 57:2 (April 1993), 301-323. E.M. Tenney, "Mrs. Roosevelt, the Russian Sniper, and Me," American Heritage 43:2 (April 1992), 28. John Kass, "This Soldier's Skill Had Nothing to Do With Gender," Chicago Tribune, Jan. 25, 2013. Peter Sheridan, "Meet Lady Death: The Deadliest Female Sniper That Ever Lived," Express, Feb. 5, 2018. Marea Donnelly, "'Lady Death' Sniper Made 309 Kills After Young Comrade Shot," Daily Telegraph, July 12, 2016, 23. Gilbert King, "Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper," Smithsonian.com, Feb. 21, 2013. Alex Lockie, "Meet the World's Deadliest Female Sniper Who Terrorized Hitler's Nazi Army," Independent, March 18, 2018. "Soviet Girl Sniper Learned to Shoot as University Co-Ed," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, August 28, 1942, 2-X. "Africa a Prelude, Maisky Declares," New York Times, Nov. 15, 1942. "Rifle Match Proposed," New York Times, Sept. 3, 1942. Public Radio International, "The Life and Myths of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Soviet Russia's Deadliest Sniper," PRI's The World, March 9, 2018. "Sharp-Shooting Women Best Soviet Snipers," USA Today Magazine, 135:2739 (December 2006), 3-4. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Maidenhead Locator System" (accessed Nov. 3, 2018). Wikipedia, "Contesting" (accessed Nov. 4, 2018). "An Evaluation of Location Encoding Systems," GitHub (accessed Nov. 9, 2018). Our territory on What3Words. Meh. Gfycat. The Silly Party takes Luton. 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!

12 Nov 201834min

Denis Vrain-Lucas was an undistinguished forger until he met gullible collector Michel Chasles. Through the 1860s Lucas sold Chasles thousands of phony letters by everyone from Plato to Louis the 14th, earning thousands of francs and touching off a firestorm among confused scholars. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of the world's most prolific forger. We'll also count Queen Elizabeth's eggs and puzzle over a destroyed car. Intro: In 2011 Australian architect Horst Kiechle sculpted a human torso from paper. English historian Thomas Birch went angling dressed as a tree. Sources for our feature on Denis Vrain-Lucas: Joseph Rosenblum, Prince of Forgers, 1998. Michael Farquhar, A Treasury of Deception, 2005. John Whitehead, This Solemn Mockery, 1973. James Anson Farrer, Literary Forgeries, 1907. Rebekah Higgitt, "'Newton Dépossédé!' The British Response to the Pascal Forgeries of 1867," British Journal for the History of Science 36:131 (December 2003), 437-453. Stephen Ornes, "Descartes' Decipherer," Nature 483:7391 (March 29, 2012), 540. R.A. Rosenbaum, "Michel Chasles and the Forged Autograph Letters," Mathematics Teacher 52:5 (May 1959), 365-366. Ken Alder, "History's Greatest Forger: Science, Fiction, and Fraud along the Seine," Critical Inquiry 30:4 (2004), 702-716. Bruce Whiteman, "Practice to Deceive: The Amazing Stories of Literary Forgery's Most Notorious Practitioners, by Joseph Rosenblum," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 39:1 (2001). "Missives Impossible: Fake News Is Nothing New -- Even Isaac Newton Was a Victim, Says Stephen Ornes," New Scientist 236:3157/3158 (Dec. 23, 2017), 76-77. Steve Kemper, "Signs of the Times," Smithsonian 28:8 (November 1997), 134-140. Cullen Murphy, "Knock It Off," Atlantic Monthly 294:5 (December 2004), 187-188. Paul Gray, "Fakes That Have Skewed History," Time 121:20 (May 16, 1983), 58-61 Matthew Adams, "Archivist Talks About History of Forgery," University Wire, Oct. 24, 2014. Charles Whibley, "Of Literary Forgers," Cornhill Magazine 12:71 (May 1902), 624-636. "Literary Frauds and Forgers," Washington Times, Aug. 13, 1907. "Literary Forgers," New York Times, May 17, 1902. "Personal Gossip," Charleston Daily News, Oct. 20, 1869. Listener mail: Ben Zimmer, "Particitrousers of the Revolutionary Movement," Language Log, Sept. 7, 2015. Ben Zimmer, "Incorrections in the Newsroom: Cupertino and Beyond," Language Log, Feb. 1, 2008. Ben Zimmer, "Hugh Jackilometresan," Language Log, Jan. 4, 2017. Ben Zimmer, "It Was As If a Light Had Been Nookd ...," Language Log, June 1, 2012. Eddie Wrenn, "eBook Replaces All Mentions of the Word 'Kindle' With Rival 'Nook' -- and Ends Up Destroying War and Peace," Daily Mail, June 7, 2012. "Poor Mr Anus, the Council Candidate Given a Bum Deal by Facebook," Guardian, Sept. 28, 2018. Kevin Jackson, "Illusion / Right Before Your Very Eyes: Penn and Teller Do Magic, but the Real Trick Is That They Like to Give the Game Away," Independent, Jan. 30, 1993. Wikipedia, "Japanese Name: Imperial Names" (accessed Oct. 25, 2018). Wikipedia, "Akihito: Ichthyological Research" (accessed Oct. 25, 2018). Russell Goldman, "5 Things to Know About Japan's Emperor and Imperial Family," New York Times, Aug. 8, 2016. Akihito et al., "Speciation of Two Gobioid Species, Pterogobius elapoides and Pterogobius zonoleucus Revealed by Multi-Locus Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analyses," Gene 576:2 (2016), 593-602. Rob Beschizza, "Joachim Rønneberg, Saboteur Who Wrecked Nazi Nuke Program, Dies at 99," Boing Boing, Oct. 22, 2018. "Joachim Roenneberg: Man Who Stopped Nazi Germany's Nuclear Ambitions Has Died, Aged 99, Norwegian Authorities Confirm," Reuters, Oct. 21, 2018. "Joachim Ronneberg: Norwegian Who Thwarted Nazi Nuclear Plan Dies," BBC News, Oct. 22, 2018. Robert D. McFadden, "Joachim Ronneberg, Leader of Raid That Thwarted a Nazi Atomic Bomb, Dies at 99," New York Times, Oct. 22, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Christopher McDonough. Here are three 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!

5 Nov 201833min

The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was a disaster for the Dutch East Indies, but its astonishing consequences were felt around the world, blocking the sun and bringing cold, famine, and disease to millions of people from China to the United States. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the volcano's devastating effects and surprising legacy. We'll also appreciate an inverted aircraft and puzzle over a resourceful barber. Intro: The Veterinary Record addressed an overlooked species in 1972. Goats like towers. Map: The 1816 summer temperature anomaly (°C) with respect to 1971-2000 climatology (data source). Sources for our feature on the Tambora eruption: Gillen D'Arcy Wood, Tambora, 2014. William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, The Year Without a Summer, 2013. Angus M. Gunn, Encyclopedia of Disasters, 2008. Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, Volcanoes in Human History, 2012. Jihong Cole-Dai et al. "Cold Decade (AD 1810–1819) Caused by Tambora (1815) and Another (1809) Stratospheric Volcanic Eruption," Geophysical Research Letters 36:22 (November 2009). Clive Oppenheimer, "Climatic, Environmental and Human Consequences of the Largest Known Historic Eruption: Tambora Volcano (Indonesia) 1815," Progress in Physical Geography 27:2 (2003), 230-259. Bernice de Jong Boers, "Mount Tambora in 1815: A Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia and Its Aftermath," Indonesia 60 (October 1995), 37-60. Chaochao Gao et al., "Climatic Aftermath of the 1815 Tambora Eruption in China," Journal of Meteorological Research 31:1 (February 2017), 28-38. Richard B. Stothers, "The Great Tambora Eruption in 1815 and its Aftermath," Science, New Series 224:4654 (June 15, 1984), 1191-1198. Shuji Cao, Yushang Li, and Bin Yang, "Mt. Tambora, Climatic Changes, and China's Decline in the Nineteenth Century," Journal of World History 23:3 (September 2012), 587-607. Gillen D'Arcy Wood, "The Volcano Lover: Climate, Colonialism, and the Slave Trade in Raffles's History of Java (1817)," Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 8:2 (Fall/Winter 2008), 33-55. Lucy Veale and Georgina H. Endfield, "Situating 1816, the 'Year Without Summer', in the UK," Geographical Journal 182:4 (December 2016), 318-330. Christos S. Zerefos, et al., "Atmospheric Effects of Volcanic Eruptions as Seen by Famous Artists and Depicted in Their Paintings," Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 7:15 (2007), 4027-4042. C.S. Zerefos, et al., "Further Evidence of Important Environmental Information Content in Red-to-Green Ratios as Depicted in Paintings by Great Masters," Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 14:6 (2014), 2987-3015. Sarah Zielinski, "How Paintings of Sunsets Immortalize Past Volcanic Eruptions," Smithsonian.com, March 25, 2014. Alan MacEachern, "The Big Chill," Canada's History 96:4 (August September 2016), 52-55. Richard Cavendish, "The Eruption of Mount Tambora," History Today 65:4 (April 2015), 8. Robert Evans, "Blast From the Past," Smithsonian 33:4 (July 2002), 52-57. Michael Greshko, "201 Years Ago, This Volcano Caused a Climate Catastrophe," National Geographic, April 8, 2016. William J. Broad, "A Volcanic Eruption That Reverberates 200 Years Later," New York Times, Aug. 24, 2015. John Noble Wilford, "Under an 1815 Volcano Eruption, Remains of a 'Lost Kingdom,'" New York Times, Feb. 28, 2006. Listener mail: "Trudeau to Apologize Nov. 7 for 1939 Decision to Turn Away Jewish Refugees Fleeing Nazis," CBC News, Sept. 6, 2018. "Trudeau to Offer Formal Apology in Commons for Fate of Jewish Refugee Ship MS St. Louis," CBC News, May 8, 2018. David Harry, "Box-Top Bonanza: Portland Land Bank May Get Park Land for $6,400," Forecaster, Aug. 14, 2018. "Owney: Tales From the Rails," Smithsonian National Postal Museum, March 6, 2018. James Barron, "An Inverted Jenny Surfaces. The Flawed Stamp Had Not Been Seen Since 1918," New York Times, Sept. 6, 2018. Daniel Fernandez, "How the Inverted Jenny, a 24-Cent Stamp, Came to Be Worth a Fortune," Smithsonian.com, May 15, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Frank Kroeger, inspired by Johann Peter Hebel's story "Der Barbierjunge von Segringen." 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!

29 Okt 201831min