333-Stranded in the Kimberley

In 1917 a pair of Allied officers combined a homemade Ouija board, audacity, and imagination to hoax their way out of a remote prison camp in the mountains of Turkey. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the remarkable escape of Harry Jones and Cedric Hill, which one observer called “the most colossal fake of modern times.” We'll also consider a cactus' role in World War II and puzzle over a cigar-smoking butler. Intro: A 1962 writer to the London Times contends that all thrushes "sooner or later sing the tune of the first subject of Mozart's G minor Symphony." The U.S. Senate maintains a tradition of hiding candy in a desk on the chamber floor. Sources for our feature on the Yozgad escape: E.H. Jones, The Road to En-dor, 1919. Tony Craven Walker's En-dor Unveiled (2014) (PDF) is a valuable source of background information, with descriptions of Harry Jones' early life; the siege of Kut-el-Amara, where he was captured; his punishing trek across Syria; the prison camp; and his life after the war. It includes many letters and postcards, including some hinting at his efforts toward an escape. S.P. MacKenzie, "The Ethics of Escape: British Officer POWs in the First World War," War in History 15:1 (January 2008), 1-16. "A Note for Spiritualists," The Field, March 27, 1920, 457. "Jones, Elias Henry," Dictionary of Welsh Biography (accessed 07/30/2016). "En-dor," in Rudyard Kipling's Verse, 1919. Listener mail: Associated Press, "Japanese Submarine Attack in California Unnerved U.S.," Feb. 23, 1992. William Scheck, "Japanese Submarine Commander Kozo Nishino Gained Personal Satisfaction From Shelling the California Coast," World War II 13:2 (July 1998), 16. Wikipedia, "Bombardment of Ellwood" (accessed Aug. 12, 2016). California Military Museum, "The Shelling of Ellwood" (accessed Aug. 12, 2016). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was adapted from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1998 book Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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!

15 Aug 201633min

In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including the love affair that inspired the Rolls Royce hood ornament, a long-distance dancer, Otto von Bismarck's dogs, and a craftily plotted Spanish prison break. We'll also run after James Earl Ray and puzzle over an unsociable jockey. Intro: Workers constructing Washington's Grand Coulee Dam in 1942 fed a cable through a 500-foot drain by tying a string to an alley cat's tail. A 2001 earthquake in Olympia, Wash., drew a graceful rose with a sand-tracing pendulum. Sources for this week's feature: The best source I can find regarding the origins of the Rolls Royce hood ornament is this Telegraph article from 2008, in which Montagu's son says, "My father and Eleanor shared a great passion. It was a grand love affair - perhaps even the love of his life. All this happened before my father met my mother. But I understand my father's first wife knew about the mistress. She was very tolerant of her and they got on very well." But this quote is given in the service of promoting a film about the affair, which makes it less objective than I'd like. (Paul Tritton of the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club of Australia disputes the story here.) Alexandre Dumas' habit of eating an apple every morning beneath the Arc de Triomphe is described in this New York Times article, among many other modern sources. The earliest mention I can find is a 1911 article in the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette, attributing the intervention to Hungarian physician David Gruby. I've confirmed that Gruby served as a physician to Dumas (père et fils), but I can't find anything about an apple. The incidents of the Savoy Hotel cloakroom and the Travellers Club suicide are both described in N.T.P. Murphy's A Wodehouse Handbook (2013). The suicide rule is mentioned at the end of this Telegraph article, which gives me hope that it's true, but I can't find anything more comprehensive. The story of the Providence United Methodist Church is told in both Randy Cerveny's Freaks of the Storm (2005) and Rick Schwartz's Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States (2007). Snopes says it's "mostly true." In Constable's Clouds, published by the National Galleries of Scotland 2000, Edward Morris writes, "It is this moment of early morning light -- and what has been described as 'the atmosphere of stillness tinged with expectancy' -- that Constable translates into the finished canvas." Judith Collins mentions Joseph Beuys' responsibility for snow in her introduction to Andy Goldsworthy's Midsummer Snowballs (2001). Reader Olga Izakson found the description of Tiras, Otto von Bismarck's “dog of the empire,” in Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought (1991). A few further links. The role of Esperanto in the planning of the 1938 San Cristobál prison break is described (I think) here. In 1600 William Kemp published a pamphlet chronicling his 1599 morris dance to Norwich, Kemps Nine Daies Wonder, to quiet doubters. The allegation that Margaret Thatcher ordered the identities of British government employees to be encoded in the word spacing of their documents appears in Gregory Kipper's Investigator's Guide to Steganography (2003). I've found it in other technical documents, but these tend to cite one another rather than an authoritative source. Listener mail: Madison Kahn, "60 Hours of Hell: The Story of the Barkley Marathons," Outside, May 8, 2013. Wikipedia, "Barkley Marathons" (accessed Aug. 6, 2016). Wikipedia, "Kaihogyo," (accessed Aug. 6, 2016). Adharanand Finn, "What I Learned When I Met the Monk Who Ran 1,000 Marathons," Guardian, March 31, 2015. Associated Press, "Japanese Monks Endure With a Vow of Patience," June 10, 2007. Here's a corroborating link for this week's lateral thinking puzzle (warning: spoiler). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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!

8 Aug 201631min

After the Battle of Gettysburg, a dead Union soldier was found near the center of town. He bore no identification, but in his hands he held a photograph of three children. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the efforts of one Philadelphia physician to track down the lost man's family using only the image of his children. We'll also sample a 9-year-old's comedy of manners and puzzle over a letter that copies itself. Intro: The mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, is a cat named Stubbs. According to multiple sources, the 3rd Earl of Darnley, an eccentric bachelor, suffered from the delusion that he was a teapot. Sources for our feature on Amos Humiston: Mark H. Dunkelman, Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier, 1999. Mark H. Dunkelman, "Key to a Mystery," American History 32:2 (May/June 1997), 16-20. Errol Morris, "Whose Father Was He?" (parts 1-5), New York Times, March 29-April 5, 2009. Ronald S. Coddington, "At Gettysburg, Life Imitates Art," Military Images 34:3 (Summer 2016), 54-55. "Visit Recalls Wartime Story," Gettysburg, Pa., Star and Sentinel, Oct. 28, 1914. The full text of Daisy Ashford's The Young Visiters, including J.M. Barrie's preface, is on Project Gutenberg. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener TJ. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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 Juli 201630min

In 1968 British engineer Donald Crowhurst entered a round-the-world yacht race, hoping to use the prize money to save his failing electronics business. Woefully unprepared and falling behind, he resorted to falsifying a journey around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the desperate measures that Crowhurst turned to as events spiraled out of his control. We'll also get some updates on Japanese fire balloons and puzzle over a computer that turns on the radio. Intro: The stones at Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park chime like bells when struck with a hammer. Sand dunes that "sing" when walked upon are found at 35 sites around the world. In 1884 two scientists notated the sounds on a musical scale. Sources for our feature on Donald Crowhurst: Peter Nichols, A Voyage for Madmen, 2001. Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall, The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, 1970. Associated Press, "Briton Missing in Global Race," July 10, 1969. Associated Press, "Mystery Shrouds Lone Sailor's Fate," July 12, 1969. Associated Press, "Search Ends for Voyager," July 12, 1969. Associated Press, "Lost Yacht Racer Sent Fake Reports," July 25, 1969. Associated Press, "Log Shows Yachtsman Never Left Atlantic in Race Round World," July 28, 1969. AAP-Reuters, "Lost Sailor 'Stayed in Atlantic,'" July 28, 1969. "Mutiny of the Mind," Time 94:6 (Aug. 8, 1969), 59. Ed Caesar, "Drama on the Waves: The Life and Death of Donald Crowhurst," Independent, Oct. 27, 2006. Robert McCrum, "Deep Water," Guardian, April 4, 2009. Alex Ritman, "First Look: Colin Firth Cast Adrift as Ill-Fated Amateur Sailor Donald Crowhurst in 'The Mercy'," Hollywood Reporter, June 17, 2016. Listener mail: Bob Greene, "The Japanese Who Bombed Oregon," Chicago Tribune, July 18, 1988. Nicholas D. Kristof, "Nobuo Fujita, 85, Is Dead; Only Foe to Bomb America," New York Times, Oct. 3, 1997. Ross Coen, Fu-Go, 2014. James sent these additional links on Nobuo Fujita: Tatiana Danger, "Visit the Samurai Sword of the WWII Japanese Pilot Who Bombed Oregon," Roadtrippers, April 25, 2014. Larry Bingham, "Oregon Coast Trail Dedicated for World War II Bombing," Oregonian, Oct. 2, 2008. Finn J.D. John, "The Flying Samurai Who Attacked Oregon," Offbeat Oregon History, May 12, 2013. Finn J.D. John, "A Town's Special Friendship With Its Onetime Would-Be Destroyer," Offbeat Oregon History, May 18, 2013. William McCash, Bombs Over Brookings, 2005. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Doug Shaw. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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 Juli 201636min

Anna Jarvis organized the first observance of Mother's Day in 1908 and campaigned to have the holiday adopted throughout the country. But her next four decades were filled with bitterness and acrimony as she watched her "holy day" devolve into a "burdensome, wasteful, expensive gift-day." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow the evolution of Mother's Day and Jarvis' belligerent efforts to control it. We'll also meet a dog that flummoxed the Nazis and puzzle over why a man is fired for doing his job too well. Intro: For its December 1897 issue, The Strand engaged three acrobats to create a "human alphabet." In 1989 researchers discovered a whale in the Pacific that calls at 52 hertz -- the only one of its kind. Sources for our feature on Anna Jarvis: Katharine Lane Antolini, Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Struggle for the Control for Mother's Day, 2014. Katharine Lane Antolini, "The Woman Behind Mother's Day," Saturday Evening Post 288:3 (May/June 2016), 82-86. “Miss Anna Jarvis Has New Program for Mother's Day,” The [New London, Conn.] Day, May 9, 1912. “The Forgotten Mother of Mother's Day,” Milwaukee Journal, May 13, 1944. “Founder of Mother's Day Dies Penniless, Blind at 84,” Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 26, 1948. Cynthia Lowry, “Woman Responsible for Mother's Day Died Without Sympathy for Way It Turned Out,” Associated Press, May 4, 1958. Associated Press, “Mrs. Anna Jarvis Inspires 'Mother's Day' Observance,” May 10, 1959. Daniel Mark Epstein, “The Mother of Mother's Day,” Toledo Blade, May 3, 1987. Marshall S. Berdan, "Change of Heart," Smithsonian 38:2 (May 2007), 116-116. Jackie the parodic Dalmatian: "Hitler-Saluting Dog Outraged Nazis," World War II 26:1 (May/June 2011), 16. "Hitler-Mocking Dog Enraged Nazis, According to New Documents," Telegraph, Jan. 7, 2011. "Nazi Germany Pursued 'Hitler Salute' Finnish Dog," BBC, Jan. 7, 2011. Kirsten Grieshaber, "'Heil Rover!' Hitler-Imitating Dog Enraged Nazis," NBC News, Jan. 7, 2011. Nick Carbone, "Man's Best Fuhrer: Was Hitler-Saluting Dog a Threat to the Nazis?", Time, Jan. 9, 2011. Michael Slackman, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in Finland Who Was Trained to Give a Nazi Salute," New York Times, Jan. 11, 2011. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Steven Jones, who sent this corroborating link (warning: this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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 Juli 201631min

In 1961, Michael Rockefeller disappeared after a boating accident off the coast of Dutch New Guinea. Ever since, rumors have circulated that the youngest son of the powerful Rockefeller family had been killed by the headhunting cannibals who lived in the area. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll recount Rockefeller's story and consider the different fates that might have befallen him. We'll also learn more about the ingenuity of early sportscasters and puzzle over a baffled mechanic. Sources for our feature on Michael Rockefeller: Carl Hoffman, Savage Harvest, 2014. Associated Press, "Rockefeller's Son Killed by Tribes?", Nov. 19, 1971. Peter Kihss, "Governor's Son Is Missing Off Coast of New Guinea," New York Times, Nov. 20, 1961. United Press International, "Rockefeller to Join in Search for Missing Son," Nov. 20, 1961. United Press International, "Michael Rockefeller Had Been Told to End Quest for Native Trophies," Nov. 21, 1961. Associated Press, "Missionaries Join Rockefeller Search," Nov. 22, 1961. United Press International, "Searchers for Michael Rockefeller Pessimistic," Nov. 22, 1961. "Hope Wanes for Michael Rockefeller," St. Petersburg Times, Nov. 24, 1961. Milt Freudenheim, "Michael Rockefeller Unusual Rich Man's Son," Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 10, 1961. Barbara Miller, "Michael Rockfeller's Legacy," Toledo Blade, Sept. 2, 1962. Associated Press, "Young Michael Rockefeller Missing Almost 5 Years," Oct. 21, 1966. Mary Rockefeller Morgan, "A Loss Like No Other," Psychology Today, July/August 2012. Listener mail: A "synthetic cricket" game in Sydney in the 1930s, re-creating a game played in England: Paul D. Staudohar, "Baseball and the Broadcast Media," in Claude Jeanrenaud, Stefan Késenne, eds., The Economics of Sport and the Media, 2006. Walter Cronkite, A Reporter's Life, 1997. Modesto Radio Museum, "Baseball Games Re-Created in Radio Studios." Wikipedia, "Broadcasting of Sports Events" (accessed June 30, 2016). Media Schools, "History of Sports Broadcasting." This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Larry Miller. Here are three corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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 Juli 201634min

Toward the end of World War II, Japan launched a strange new attack on the United States: thousands of paper balloons that would sail 5,000 miles to drop bombs on the American mainland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll tell the curious story of the Japanese fire balloons, the world's first intercontinental weapon. We'll also discuss how to tell time by cannon and puzzle over how to find a lost tortoise. Sources for our feature on Japanese fire balloons: Ross Coen, Fu-Go, 2014. James M. Powles, "Silent Destruction: Japanese Balloon Bombs," World War II 17:6 (February 2003), 64. Edwin L. Pierce and R C. Mikesh, "Japan's Balloon Bombers," Naval History 6:1 (Spring 1992), 53. Lisa Murphy, "One Small Moment," American History 30:2 (June 1995), 66. Larry Tanglen, "Terror Floated Over Montana: Japanese World War II Balloon Bombs, 1944-1945," Montana: The Magazine of Western History 52:4 (Winter 2002), 76-79. Henry Stevenson, "Balloon Bombs: Japan to North America," B.C. Historical News 28:3 (Summer 1995), 22-23. Associated Press, "Japanese Balloon Bombs Launched in Homeland," May 30, 1945. Associated Press, "Japanese Launch Balloon Bombs Against United States From Their Home Islands," May 30, 1945. Associated Press, "Balloon Bombs Fall One by One for Miles Over West Coast Area," May 30, 1945. Russell Brines, "Japs Gave Up Balloon Bomb System After Launching 9,000 of Them," Associated Press, Oct. 2, 1945. "Enemy Balloons Are Still Found," Spokane Daily Chronicle, Feb. 5, 1946. Hal Schindler, "Utah Was Spared Damage By Japan's Floating Weapons," Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 1995. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Time Ball" (accessed June 16, 2016). Wikipedia, "Nelson Monument, Edinburgh" (accessed June 16, 2016). "One O'Clock Gun," Edinburgh Castle, Historic Environment Scotland. "Places to Visit in Scotland - One O'Clock Gun, Edinburgh Castle," Rampant Scotland. "Tributes to Castle's Tam the Gun," BBC News, Nov. 17, 2005. Sofiane Kennouche, "Edinburgh Castle: A Short History of the One O’Clock Gun," Scotsman, Jan. 27, 2016. Here's a time gun map of Edinburgh from 1861: "For every additional circle of distance from the Castle, subtract one second from the instant of the report of the 'Time-Gun' to give the exact moment of 1 o'clock." Additional details are here. "The Smallest Artillerist," San Francisco Call, June 20, 1895. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Sharon Ross. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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!

27 Juni 201632min

Over the span of half a century, Brooklyn impostor Stanley Clifford Weyman impersonated everyone from a Navy admiral to a sanitation expert. When caught, he would admit his deception, serve his jail time, and then take up a new identity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll review Weyman's surprisingly successful career and describe some of his more audacious undertakings. We'll also puzzle over why the police would arrest an unremarkable bus passenger. Sources for our feature on Stanley Clifford Weyman: St. Clair McKelway, The Big Little Man From Brooklyn, 1969. Alan Hynd, "Grand Deception -- 'Fabulous Fraud From Brooklyn,'" Spokane Daily Chronicle, April 13, 1956. Tom Henshaw, "Bygone State Visits Marked by Incidents," Associated Press, Sept. 13, 1959. John F. Murphy, "Notorious Impostor Shot Dead Defending Motel in Hold-Up," New York Times, Aug. 28, 1960. Richard Grenier, "Woody Allen on the American Character," Commentary 76:5 (November 1983), 61-65. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Josva Dammann Kvilstad. Here are three corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, 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!

20 Juni 201631min