365-Lateral Thinking Puzzles

In the 1890s, Waldemar Haffkine worked valiantly to develop vaccines against both cholera and bubonic plague. Then an unjust accusation derailed his career. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Haffkine's momentous work in India, which has been largely overlooked by history. We'll also consider some museum cats and puzzle over an endlessly energetic vehicle. Intro: The Galveston hurricane of 1915 carried 21,000-pound buoy 10 miles. Lillian Russell designed a portable dresser for touring actresses. Sources for our feature on Waldemar Haffkine: Selman A. Waksman, The Brilliant and Tragic Life of W.M.W. Haffkine, Bacteriologist, 1964. Waldemar Mordecai Wolffe Haffkine, Anti-Cholera Inoculation, 1895. Tilli Tansey, "Rats and Racism: A Tale of US Plague," Nature 568:7753 (April 25, 2019), 454-455. Yusra Husain, "Lucknow: Bubonic Plague Vaccine and a 123-Year-Old Family Tale," Times of India, July 29, 2020. Stanley B. Barns, "Waldemar Haffkine and the 1911 Chinese Pneumonic Plague Epidemic," Pulmonary Reviews 13:3 (March 2008), 9. Jake Scobey-Thal, "The Plague," Foreign Policy 210 (January/February 2015), 24-25. Marina Sorokina, "Between Faith and Reason: Waldemar Haffkine (1860-1930) in India," in Kenneth X. Robbins and Marvin Tokayer, eds., Western Jews in India: From the Fifteenth Century to the Present, 2013, 161-178. Pratik Chakrabarti, "'Living versus Dead': The Pasteurian Paradigm and Imperial Vaccine Research," Bulletin of the History of Medicine 84:3 (Fall 2010), 387-423. Barbara J. Hawgood, "Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine, CIE (1860–1930): Prophylactic Vaccination Against Cholera and Bubonic Plague in British India," Journal of Medical Biography 15:1 (2007), 9-19. Myron Echenberg, "Pestis Redux: The Initial Years of the Third Bubonic Plague Pandemic, 1894-1901," Journal of World History 13:2 (Fall 2002), 429-449. Natasha Sarkar, "Plague in Bombay: Response of Britain's Indian Subjects to Colonial Intervention," Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 62 (2001), 442-449. Ilana Löwy, "From Guinea Pigs to Man: The Development of Haffkine's Anticholera Vaccine," Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 47:3 (July 1992), 270-309. Eli Chernin, "Ross Defends Haffkine: The Aftermath of the Vaccine-Associated Mulkowal Disaster of 1902," Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 46:2 (April 1991), 201-218. Edythe Lutzker and Carol Jochnowitz, "The Curious History of Waldemar Haffkine," Commentary 69:006 (June 1980), 61. W.J. Simpson, "Waldemar Haffkine, CIE," British Medical Journal 2:3644 (1930), 801. Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine, "A Lecture on Vaccination Against Cholera: Delivered in the Examination Hall of the Conjoint Board of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Surgeons of England, December 18th, 1895," British Medical Journal 2:1825 (1895), 1541. Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine, "On Preventive Inoculation," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 65:413-422 (1900), 252-271. Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine and W.J. Simpson, "A Contribution to the Etiology of Cholera," Indian Medical Gazette 30:3 (1895), 89. Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine, E.H. Hankin, and Ch. H. Owen, "Technique of Haffkine's Anti-Choleraic Inoculations," Indian Medical Gazette 29:6 (1894), 201. Andrew Scottie, "The Vaccine Passport Debate Isn't New: It Started in 1897 During a Plague Pandemic," CNN Wire Service, April 14, 2021. "How the World's Race for Vaccination Was Won," [Surry Hills, N.S.W.] Daily Telegraph, Feb. 23, 2021. Joel Gunter and Vikas Pandey, "Waldemar Haffkine: The Vaccine Pioneer the World Forgot," BBC News, Dec. 11, 2020. Vikram Doctor, "The Risks and Rewards of Human Trials," [New Delhi] Economic Times, May 9, 2020. Donald G. McNeil, Jr., "Can the Government Require Vaccinations? Yes," New York Times, April 11, 2019. Henry Marsh, "The Sniping Scientists Whose Work Saved Millions of Lives," New York Times, Sept. 3, 2018. William F. Bynum, "Review --- Books: Anxieties Immune to Reason," Wall Street Journal, Aug. 18, 2018. Faye Flam, "Please Don't Try This Biohacking at Home," Chicago Tribune, June 8, 2018. Ashlin Mathew, "Falling Into the Rattrap," [Noida] Mail Today, April 5, 2015. Nicholas Bakalar, "Milestones in Combating Cholera," New York Times, Oct. 1, 2012. "Death of Dr. Haffkine," [Perth] Westralian Judean, Feb. 1, 1931. "Neglect of Genius," [Brisbane] Telegraph, May 12, 1923. "A Scientist From India," [Victoria] Jewish Herald, Nov. 5, 1915. "Dinner to Dr. Haffkine," Hebrew Standard of Australasia, July 28, 1899. Ernest Hart, "Fighting Cholera on the Ganges," Salt Lake Herald, Nov. 2, 1896. Listener mail: Quite Interesting, "Last week, the Union of Museum Cats was established ...," Twitter, March 3, 2021. Lana Svetlova, "The First Trade Union of Museum Cats in Russia Was Decided to Be Created in St. Petersburg," MKRU St. Petersburg, April 26, 2021. "Hermitage Cats," Wikipedia (accessed April 21, 2021). "Frenchman Leaves Inheritance to St. Petersburg's Hermitage Cats," Moscow Times, Dec. 3, 2020. Alexander Marquardt, "St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum Home to Masters ... and Cats," ABC News, July 21, 2010. Teresa Levonian Cole, "St Petersburg: The Cats of the Hermitage," Telegraph, May 23, 2013. Mary Ilyushina and Amy Woodyatt, "A French Man Has Left Money to 50 Cats Who Live in Russia's Hermitage Museum," CNN, Dec. 7, 2020. "Hermitage Museum," Wikipedia (accessed April 24, 2021). Mikey Smith, "No10 Staff Told to Cut Down on Treats for Larry the Cat as He Piles on Lockdown Pounds," Mirror, March 9, 2021. Justin Ng, "Just seen @Number10cat see off a fox ...," Twitter, April 20, 2021. Sam Baker, "The Fur Flies at Number Ten: Larry the Downing Street Cat Sees Off Rival FOX in Scrap Behind Prime Minister's Home," Daily Mail, April 20, 2021. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Sam Tilley, who sent this 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!

3 Maj 202130min

In 1938, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana vanished after taking a sudden sea journey. At first it was feared that he'd ended his life, but the perplexing circumstances left the truth uncertain. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the facts of Majorana's disappearance, its meaning for physics, and a surprising modern postscript. We'll also dither over pronunciation and puzzle over why it will take three days to catch a murderer. Intro: By design, no building in Washington, D.C., is taller than the Washington Monument. The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra plays instruments made of fresh vegetables. Sources for our feature on Ettore Majorana: Erasmo Recami, The Majorana Case: Letters, Documents, Testimonies, 2019. Salvatore Esposito, Ettore Majorana: Unveiled Genius and Endless Mysteries, 2017. Salvatore Esposito, The Physics of Ettore Majorana, 2015. Salvatore Esposito et al., eds., Ettore Majorana: Notes on Theoretical Physics, 2013. Salvatore Esposito, Erasmo Recami, and Alwyn Van der Merwe, eds., Ettore Majorana: Unpublished Research Notes on Theoretical Physics, 2008. Francesco Guerra and Nadia Robotti, "Biographical Notes on Ettore Majorana," in Luisa Cifarelli, ed., Scientific Papers of Ettore Majorana, 2020. Mark Buchanan, "In Search of Majorana," Nature Physics 11:3 (March 2015), 206. Michael Brooks, "The Vanishing Particle Physicist," New Statesman 143:5233 (Oct. 24, 2014), 18-19. Francesco Guerra and Nadia Robotti, "The Disappearance and Death of Ettore Majorana," Physics in Perspective 15:2 (June 2013), 160-177. Salvatore Esposito, "The Disappearance of Ettore Majorana: An Analytic Examination," Contemporary Physics 51:3 (2010), 193-209. Ennio Arimondo, Charles W. Clark, and William C. Martin, "Colloquium: Ettore Majorana and the Birth of Autoionization," Reviews of Modern Physics 82:3 (2010), 1947. Graham Farmelo, "A Brilliant Darkness: The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Genius of the Nuclear Age," Times Higher Education, Feb. 18, 2010. Frank Close, "Physics Mystery Peppered With Profanity," Nature 463:7277 (Jan. 7, 2010), 33. Joseph Francese, "Leonardo Sciascia and The Disappearance of Majorana," Journal of Modern Italian Studies 15:5 (2010), 715-733. Frank Wilczek, "Majorana Returns," Nature Physics 5:9 (2009), 614-618. Barry R. Holstein, "The Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana," Journal of Physics: Conference Series 173, Carolina International Symposium on Neutrino Physics, May 15–17, 2008. Joseph Farrell, "The Ethics of Science: Leonardo Sciascia and the Majorana Case," Modern Language Review 102:4 (October 2007), 1021-1034. Zeeya Merali, "The Man Who Was Both Alive and Dead," New Scientist 191:2563 (Aug. 5, 2006), 15. Erasmo Recami, "The Scientific Work of Ettore Majorana: An Introduction," Electronic Journal of Theoretical Physics 3:10 (April 2006), 1-10. Ettore Majorana and Luciano Maiani, "A Symmetric Theory of Electrons and Positrons," Ettore Majorana Scientific Papers, 2006. R. Mignani, E. Recami, and M. Baldo, "About a Dirac-Like Equation for the Photon According to Ettore Majorana," Lettere al Nuovo Cimento 11:12 (April 1974), 568-572. Angelo Paratico, "Science Focus: Italy Closes Case on Physician's Mysterious Disappearance," South China Morning Post, Feb. 15, 2015. Antonino Zichichi, "Ettore Majorana: Genius and Mystery," CERN Courier 46 (2006), N6. Peter Hebblethwaite, "Saints for Our Time," Guardian, April 17, 1987. Walter Sullivan, "Finding on Radioactivity May Upset Physics Law," New York Times, Jan. 14, 1987. Nino Lo Bello, "Is Missing Atomic Scientist Working for the Russians?" [Cedar Rapids, Iowa] Gazette, May 3, 1959. Listener mail: "Farmers Project Is Right on Time," New Zealand Herald, Feb. 6, 2012. "Farmers Opens New Napier Store," Scoop, June 6, 2013. Megan Garber, "The State of Wyoming Has 2 Escalators," Atlantic, July 17, 2013. Brandon Specktor, "Believe It or Not, This State Only Has Two Escalators -- Here's Why," Reader's Digest, Sept. 8, 2017. Audie Cornish and Melissa Block, "Where Are All of Wyomings Escalators?" NPR, July 18, 2013. Natasha Frost, "Spiral Escalators Look Cool, But Do They Make Sense?" Atlas Obscura, July 5, 2017. "Spiral Escalator," Elevatorpedia (accesssed April 17, 2021). "Aussie," Wikipedia (accessed April 16, 2021). "Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet," Wikipedia (accessed April 14, 2021). "Naming Cockburn," City of Cockburn (accessed April 14, 2021). This week's lateral thinking puzzle is taken from Anges Rogers' 1953 book How Come?: A Book of Riddles, sent to us by listener Jon Jerome. 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 Apr 202133min

In 1883, Missouri real estate broker James Reavis announced that he held title to a huge tract of land in the Arizona Territory. If certified, the claim would threaten the livelihoods of thousands of residents. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Baron of Arizona, one of the most audacious frauds in American history. We'll also scrutinize British statues and puzzle over some curious floor numbers. Intro: In 1891, Charles Dodgson wrote a curiously unforthcoming letter to Nellie Bowman. Reputedly the English geologist William Buckland could distinguish a region by the smell of its soil. Sources for our feature on James Reavis: Donald M. Powell, The Peralta Grant: James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona, 1960. E.H. Cookridge, The Baron of Arizona, 1967. Jay J. Wagoner, Arizona Territory, 1863-1912: A Political History, 1970. Donald M. Powell, "The Peralta Grant: A Lost Arizona Story," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 50:1 (First Quarter, 1956), 40-52. Walter Barlow Stevens, Missouri the Center State: 1821-1915, Volume 2, 1915. Joseph Stocker, "The Baron of Arizona," American History 36:1 (April 2001), 20. J.D. Kitchens, "Forging Arizona: A History of the Peralta Land Grant and Racial Identity in the West," Choice 56:12 (August 2019), 1515. Donald M. Powell, "The Baron of Arizona by E. H. Cookridge (review)," Western American Literature 4:1 (Spring 1969), 73-74. Tim Bowman, "Forging Arizona: A History of the Peralta Land Grant and Racial Identity in the West (review)," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 123:3 (January 2020), 386-387. Ira G. Clark, "The Peralta Grant: James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona by Donald M. Powell (review)," Mississippi Valley Historical Review 47:3 (December 1960), 522-523. McIntyre Faries, "The Peralta Grant — James Addison Reavis and the Barony of Arizona by Donald M. Powell (review)," Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly 42:3 (September 1960), 315. Donald M. Powell, "The 'Baron of Arizona' Self-Revealed: A Letter to His Lawyer in 1894," Arizona and the West 1:2 (Summer 1959), 161-173. Clarence Budington Kelland, "The Red Baron of Arizona," Saturday Evening Post 220:15 (Oct. 11, 1947), 22. Marshall Trimble, "The Baron of Arizona," True West Magazine, April 2, 2015. Oren Arnold, "Skulduggery in the Southwest," Saturday Evening Post 216:34 (Feb. 19, 1944), 68. Jeff Jackson, "Reavis Put Arizola on Map Ignominiously," [Casa Grande, Ariz.] Tri-Valley Dispatch, June 2, 2020. "Arizona's Long, Rich History of Land Fraud," Arizona Republic, Dec. 29, 2019. Ron Dungan, "The 'Baron of Arizona,' a Most Royal Fraud," Arizona Republic, March 6, 2016. Jaimee Rose, "Forger Claimed 12 Mil Acres," Arizona Republic, Oct. 14, 2012. Richard Ruelas, "'Baron of Arizona' Reigns Again," Arizona Republic, Jan. 28, 2008. Clay Thompson, "'Baron' Reavis Behind State's Biggest Scam," Arizona Republic, March 12, 2006. "The 12-Million-Acre Swindle That Failed," Arizona Republic, Jan. 12, 2002. Bill Hume, "Sly Headstone Maker Nearly Carved Off Hunk of Southwest," Albuquerque Journal, July 9, 2000. Mitchell Smyth, "Baron of Arizona Really 'Prince of Imposters,'" Toronto Star, Feb. 12, 2000. Marshall Sprague, "A Crook by Choice," New York Times, July 9, 1967. "Skulduggery in Arizona Land Office," New York Times, June 23, 1950. "Peralta Reavis Turns Up Again," Socorro [N.M.] Chieftain, July 2, 1904. Will M. Tipton, "The Prince of Impostors: Part I," Land of Sunshine 8:3 (February 1898), 106–118. Will M. Tipton, "The Prince of Impostors: Part II," Land of Sunshine 8:4 (March 1898), 161–170. "Indicted on Two Score Counts: Land Claimant Reavis to Be Prosecuted by the Government," New York Times, Jan. 20, 1896. "Reavis Conspirators," Arizona Republican, Jan. 3, 1896. "The 'Baron of the Colorados': He Claims a Great Tract of Land in Arizona," New York Times, July 7, 1891. Listener mail: Mark Brown, "Royal Mint to Commemorate Fossil Hunter Mary Anning," Guardian, Feb. 24, 2021. "Mary Anning: Fossil Hunter Celebrated With Jurassic 50p Coins," BBC News, Feb. 25, 2021. "Mary Anning Rocks" (accessed April 7, 2021). Caroline Criado-Perez, "I Sorted the UK's Statues by Gender -- a Mere 2.7 Per Cent Are of Historical, Non-Royal Women," New Statesman, March 26, 2016. "Reality Check: How Many UK Statues Are of Women?" BBC News, April 24, 2018. Megan O'Grady, "Why Are There So Few Monuments That Successfully Depict Women?" New York Times, Feb. 18, 2021. Shachar Peled, "Where Are the Women? New Effort to Give Them Just Due on Monuments, Street Names," CNN, March 8, 2017. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Colin White. 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 Apr 202132min

One dark night in 1804, a London excise officer mistook a bricklayer for a ghost and shot him. This raised a difficult question: Was he guilty of murder? In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll consider the case of the Hammersmith ghost, which has been called "one of the greatest curiosities in English criminal law." We'll also worry about British spiders and puzzle over some duplicative dog names. Intro: In 1850, an English doctor claimed to have given first aid to a pike. In 1970, Air Force pilot Gary Foust ejected from his F-106 and watched it land itself. Sources for our feature on the Hammersmith ghost: W.M. Medland and Charles Weobly, A Collection of Remarkable and Interesting Criminal Trials, Actions at Law, &c., 1804. Thomas Faulkner, The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Hammersmith, 1839. James Paterson, Curiosities of Law and Lawyers, 1899. Thomas Faulkner, An Historical and Topographical Account of Fulham: Including the Hamlet of Hammersmith, 1813. R.S. Kirby, Kirby's Wonderful and Scientific Museum: Or, Magazine of Remarkable Characters, Volume 2, 1804. Jacob Middleton, "An Aristocratic Spectre," History Today 61:2 (February 2011), 44-45. Alfred Whitman, "A Hundred Years Ago -- 1804," Strand 28:168 (December 1904), 632-638. Augustus K. Stephenson, "Ghost Stories of 100 Years Ago," Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 208:11 (April 1904), 214-220. John Ezard, "Ghostly Murder Haunts Lawyers 200 Years On," Guardian, Jan. 2, 2004. "The Case of the Murdered Ghost," BBC News, Jan. 3, 2004. "Killing of a 'Ghost' That Haunted Courts for 180 Years," [Glasgow] Herald, Jan. 3, 2004. "Experts to Remember Spectral Shooting," Birmingham Post, Jan. 3, 2004. Arifa Akbar, "Club Hosts Gathering in Honour of Famous Ghost Case," Independent, Jan. 3, 2004. Martin Baggoley, "The Hammersmith Ghost and the Strange Death of Thomas Millwood," Crime Magazine, April 9, 2015. "'Laying' a Ghost," [Brisbane] Telegraph, March 8, 1924. "A Ghost Story of 100 Years Ago," Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate, Oct. 29, 1910. "From the Courts," Brisbane Courier, Dec. 22, 1906. "Strange Stories of London Ghosts," [Melbourne] Leader, Oct. 6, 1900. "Dream Evidence," [Adelaide] Express and Telegraph, Feb. 21, 1891. "Ghosts, Witches, and Hangmen," Moreton [Qld.] Mail, Nov. 22, 1889. "Glimpses of the Past," Bury and Norwich Post, Sept. 7, 1886. "Resuscitation of the Hammersmith Ghost," [London] Examiner, Dec. 15, 1833. "The Hammersmith Ghost," [London] Morning Post, Dec. 6, 1824. "A New Hammersmith Ghost," [London] Morning Chronicle, Dec. 4, 1824. "Old Bailey," Aberdeen Journal, Jan. 25, 1804. "Murder -- Hammersmith Ghost," Bury and Norwich Post, Jan. 18, 1804. "From the London Gazette," Hampshire Telegraph and Naval Chronicle, Jan. 16, 1804. "The Hammersmith Ghost," Caledonian Mercury, Jan. 14, 1804. "The Real Hammersmith Ghost," Staffordshire Advertiser, Jan. 14, 1804. Trial proceedings from the Old Bailey. Jane Alexander, "The Time Someone Shot a Ghost Dead in Hammersmith," Londonist, Oct. 25, 2019. Ross Macfarlane, "The Hammersmith Ghost," Wellcome Library blog, Oct. 31, 2009. Kelly Buchanan, "The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years," In Custodia Legis, Library of Congress, Oct. 30, 2015. Gabrielle Keane, Locating Literature in the Ghost Hoax: An Exploration of 19th-Century Print News Media, dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, 2019. Jen Cadwallader, Spirits of the Age: Ghost Stories and the Victorian Psyche, dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2009. Listener mail: "Bing (TV series)," Wikipedia (accessed March 24, 2021). "List of Bing episodes," Wikipedia (accessed March 24, 2021). Amber Tully, "Should You Put Ice on a Burn (or Not)?" Cleveland Clinic, June 12, 2018. "Minor Burns - Aftercare," MedLine Plus, Aug. 13, 2020. Anahad O'Connor, "The Claim: Ice Is Good for a Skin Burn," New York Times, June 10, 2008. Luis Villazon, "How Many UK Spiders Are Actually Dangerous?" BBC Science Focus (accessed March 24, 2021). "Spider," Wikipedia (accessed March 30, 2021). "Not So False After All: Venom of the Noble False Widow Spider Very Similar to the Venom of 'True' Black Widows," NUI Galway, June 18, 2020. John P. Dunbar et al., "Venomics Approach Reveals a High Proportion of Lactrodectus-Like Toxins in the Venom of the Noble False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis," Toxins, 12:6 (June 18, 2020), 402. "Study Finds Noble False Widow Spiders Bite Can Transmit Harmful Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Humans," NUI Galway, Dec. 1, 2020. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Stephen Harvey, who sent these 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 Apr 202129min

In 1901, two English academics met a succession of strange characters during a visit to Versailles. They came to believe that they had strayed somehow into the mind of Marie Antoinette in the year before her execution. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Moberly-Jourdain affair, a historical puzzle wrapped in a dream. We'll also revisit Christmas birthdays and puzzle over a presidential term. Intro: In 1936, Evelyn Waugh asked Laura Herbert whether "you could bear the idea of marrying me." In 1832, Mrs. T.T. Boddington was struck by lightning. Charlotte Anne Moberly (left) and Eleanor Jourdain. Sources for our feature on the incident at Versailles: Charlotte Anne Elizabeth Moberly and Eleanor Frances Jourdain, An Adventure, 1913. Roger Clarke, A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof, 2012. Terry Castle, "'An Adventure' and Its Skeptics," Critical Inquiry 17:4 (Summer 1991), 741-772. Laura Schwartz, "Enchanted Modernity, Anglicanism and the Occult in Early Twentieth-Century Oxford: Annie Moberly, Eleanor Jourdain and Their 'Adventure,'" Cultural and Social History 14:3 (2017), 301-319. Keith Reader, "The Unheimliche Hameau: Nationality and Culture in The Moberly/Jourdain Affair," Australian Journal of French Studies 57:1, 93-102. Fabio Camilletti, "Present Perfect: Time and the Uncanny in American Science and Horror Fiction of the 1970s (Finney, Matheson, King)," Image & Narrative 11:3 (2010), 25-41. Rosemary Auchmuty, "Whatever Happened to Miss Bebb? Bebb v The Law Society and Women's Legal History," Legal Studies 31:2 (June 2011), 199-230. Roger J. Morgan, "Correspondence," Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 76:909 (Oct. 1, 2012), 239-240. Terry Castle, "Marie Antoinette Obsession," Representations 38 (Spring 1992), 1-38. Richard Mawrey, "Phantom of the Trianon," Historic Gardens Review 25 (July 2011), 12-17. Roger Betteridge, "How a Spooky Adventure Came Back to Haunt Reputation of Vicar's Daughter," Derby Evening Telegraph, Dec. 31, 2012. Tim Richardson, "Hunted Ground," Daily Telegraph, Dec. 22, 2012. Brian Dunning, "Unsolved Mystery of the Ghosts of Versailles," Kansas City [Mo.] Star, Nov. 1, 1965. Tess Van Sommers, "Laying the Ghosts of Trianon," Sydney Morning Herald, Oct. 23, 1965. "Ghost Story Probed," Cairns [Qld.] Post, Oct. 10, 1938. "Stepped Back Into Another Century," [Rockhampton, Qld.] Morning Bulletin, Jan. 5, 1938. "Phantom Lady of Versailles," [Murwillumbah, N.S.W.] Tweed Daily, July 12, 1937. "Miss Anne Moberly, Educator at Oxford," New York Times, May 7, 1937. Kristen Brooks, High Static, Dead Lines: Sonic Spectres & the Object Hereafter, dissertation, University of California, San Diego, 2017. Janet Howarth, "Moberly, Charlotte Anne Elizabeth (1846–1937)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sept. 23, 2004. Janet Howarth, "Jourdain, Eleanor Frances (1863–1924)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sept. 23, 2004. Listener mail: Albert A. Harrison, Nancy J. Struthers, and Michael Moore, "On the Conjunction of National Holidays and Reported Birthdates: One More Path to Reflected Glory?" Social Psychology Quarterly 51:4 (December 1988), 365-370. Richard Wiseman, Quirkology, 2007. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Mike Berman. 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 Mars 202131min

In the 19th century, some New England communities grew so desperate to help victims of tuberculosis that they resorted to a macabre practice: digging up dead relatives and ritually burning their organs. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the causes of this bizarre belief and review some unsettling examples. We'll also consider some fighting cyclists and puzzle over Freddie Mercury's stamp. Intro: Residents of Sydney and London could take a train to the local necropolis. In the 19th century, a dog named Tschingel climbed 30 peaks. Sources for our feature on the New England vampire panic: Michael E. Bell, Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England’s Vampires, 2014. Sarah Richardson, "When Americans Saw Vampires," American History 54:5 (December 2019), 7. Michael E. Bell, "Vampires and Death in New England, 1784 to 1892," Anthropology and Humanism 31:2 (2006), 124-140. George R. Stetson, "The Animistic Vampire in New England," American Anthropologist 9:1 (January 1896), 1-13. John Buhler, "Disease and the Undead: Digging Up the Truth About Vampires," Canadian Journal of Medical Laboratory Science 81:3 (Fall 2019), 14-16. Jennifer Daniels-Higginbotham et al., "DNA Testing Reveals the Putative Identity of JB55, a 19th Century Vampire Buried in Griswold, Connecticut," Genes 10:9 (2019), 636. G. David Keyworth, "Was the Vampire of the Eighteenth Century a Unique Type of Undead-corpse?" Folklore 117:3 (December 2006), 241-260. Patricia D. Lock, "America's Last Vampire," Calliope 22:2 (October 2011), 20. Josepha Sherman, "Spirited Defense," Archaeology 57:3 (May/June 2004), 8. Abigail Tucker, "The Great New England Vampire Panic," Smithsonian 43:6 (October 2012), 58-66. Joe Bills, "New England's Vampire History," Yankee New England, Oct. 28, 2019. "Letters to the Editor - New England Vampire Beliefs," Skeptical Inquirer 17:3 (Spring 1993), 339. Morgan Hines, "DNA Evidence: This New England 'Vampire' Was Named John Barber in Life," USA Today, Aug. 10, 2019. Michael E. Ruane, "Vampire Bones?; A 'Vampire's' Remains Were Found About 30 Years Ago and Now DNA Is Giving Him New Life," [Brantford, Ont.] Expositor, Aug. 1, 2019. Craig S. Semon, "Uncovering 'Vampirism' in New England," [Worcester, Mass.] Telegram & Gazette, Sept. 30, 2015. Valerie Franchi, "Author Shares Vivid Tales of Vampires: Bell Addresses Meeting of Historical Society," [Worcester, Mass.] Telegram & Gazette, Oct. 24, 2008. Jascha Hoffman, "A New England Vampire Tale," Boston Globe, July 20, 2003. Cate McQuaid, "The Secrets of the Grave When the Living Were Ill, They Sought Out the Dead," Boston Globe, Oct. 27, 2002. "Tales of the Vampire Make Way Into Colonial Press, Finding Captive Audience," Hartford Courant, Oct. 24, 1999. David Brown, "Uncovering a Therapy From the Grave," Washington Post, Oct. 25, 1993. Sam Libby, "Cemetery Holds Tales of Vampires," New York Times, Feb. 16, 1992. "Did Mercy Brown Become a Vampire?" [New London, Ct.] Day, Oct. 25, 1981. "Romance in Origin of Superstitions," Omaha Daily Bee, Jan. 11, 1921. Andrew Lange, "The Common Vampire," Washington Post, Aug. 21, 1904. "Lang on the Vampire," Saint Paul Globe, Aug. 7, 1904. "Believe in Vampires," Boston Globe, Jan. 27, 1896. "Is Consumption Catching?" Quebec Saturday Budget, June 1, 1895. "Did Vampires Really Stalk New England Farm Families?" New England Historical Society (accessed March 7, 2021). Edgar B. Herwick III, "It's Not Just Witches. New England Has a History With Vampires, Too," The World, PRI, Oct. 31, 2018. Listener mail: David Mikkelson, "Letter Exchange Between Law Firm and Cleveland Browns," Snopes, Jan. 19, 2011. Casey C. Sullivan, "Is This the Best Legal Response Letter Ever?" FindLaw, Aug. 2, 2016. David Seideman, "Lady Struck Twice by Foul Balls Hit by Phillies' Richie Ashburn in the Same at Bat," Forbes, Sept. 21, 2017. David Donovan, "Litigant Cries Foul Over Court's Baseball Rule," North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, Jan. 8, 2021. "1955 Le Mans Disaster," Wikipedia (accessed March 11, 2021). "Race Car at Le Mans Crashes Into Spectators, Killing 82," History.com, June 9, 2020. "When Riders Attack: Memorable Scuffles From Recent Cycling History," Cyclingnews, March 20, 2020. "Froome's Spectator Punch: How Does It Stack Up?" VeloNews (accessed March 13, 2021). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Saphia Fleury. 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!

22 Mars 202133min

In the 19th century, France, England, and the United States each set out to bring home an Egyptian obelisk. But each obelisk weighed hundreds of tons, and the techniques of moving them had long been forgotten. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the struggles of each nation to transport these massive monoliths using the technology of the 1800s. We'll also go on an Australian quest and puzzle over a cooling fire. Intro: Science fiction writer Albert Robida proposed a president made of wood. Norway's flag incorporates those of six other nations. Sources for our feature on the Egyptian obelisks: Bob Brier, Cleopatra's Needles: The Lost Obelisks of Egypt, 2016. Martina D'Alton, The New York Obelisk, or, How Cleopatra's Needle Came to New York and What Happened When It Got Here, 1993. Charles Edward Moldenke, The New York Obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle: With a Preliminary Sketch of the History, Erection, Uses, and Signification of Obelisks, 1891. Henry Honeychurch Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks, 1885. Erasmus Wilson, Cleopatra's Needle: With Brief Notes on Egypt and Egyptian Obelisks, 1877. Bob Brier, "The Secret Life of the Paris Obelisk," Aegyptiaca: Journal of the History of Reception of Ancient Egypt 2 (2018), 75-91. Henry Petroski, "Engineering: Moving Obelisks," American Scientist 99:6 (November–December 2011), 448-452. Bob Brier, "Saga of Cleopatra's Needles," Archaeology 55:6 (November/December 2002), 48-54. P.W. Copeman, "Cleopatra's Needle: Dermatology's Weightiest Achievement," British Medical Journal 1:6106 (1978), 154-155. "Machinery for Moving Cleopatra's Needle," Scientific American 41:21 (Nov. 22, 1879), 322. "Landing of Cleopatra's Needle," Scientific American 39:4 (July 27, 1878), 55. "Cleopatra's Needle," Scientific American 36:14 (April 7, 1877), 215-216. Paul Brown, "Weatherwatch: The Perilous Sea Journey of Cleopatra's Needle," Guardian, April 8, 2020. Marguerite Oliver, "Cleopatra's Needle: Egypt's Gift to England," Los Angeles Times, Sept. 20, 1987. Cyrus W. Bell, "How They Took Cleopatra's Needle Down the Nile and by Sea to London," Toronto Star, Nov. 9, 1985. "Now It Can Be Told; After 60 Years, Cleopatra's Needle Identifies Itself," New York Times, March 7, 1941. "Cleopatra's Needle in London," New York Times, April 17, 1932. "Obelisk Located in Central Park," New Britain [Conn.] Herald, Dec. 5, 1928. Eli Benedict, "Cleopatra's Needle: Central Park Obelisk Is More Than 3,000 Years Old," New York Times, May 14, 1914. "Cleopatra's Needle: How Well It Stands the English Climate," New York Times, June 6, 1890. "Laying the Corner-Stone; Masons Preparing the Obelisk's Foundation," New York Times, Oct. 10, 1880. "Hieroglyphics Deciphered," New York Times, Aug. 19, 1878. "The Inscriptions on Cleopatra's Needle," New York Times, July 25, 1878. "Raising the Cleopatra's Needle," New York Times, June 30, 1878. "Cleopatra's Needle," Times, Feb. 16, 1878. "Cleopatra's Needle," Graphic, Feb. 2, 1878. "Cleopatra's Needle," Liverpool Mercury, Oct. 22, 1877. "The Derelict Obelisk," New York Times, Oct. 19, 1877. "Cleopatra's Needle," [London] Standard, Oct. 19, 1877. "Cleopatra's Needle: Loss of the Obelisk Off Cape Finistere a Heavy Gale in Which the Steamer Lost Six Men in Rescuing the Crew From the Craft," New York Times, Oct. 18, 1877. "Cleopatra's Needle in London," New York Times, Sept. 16, 1877. "Cleopatra's Needle," Birmingham Daily Post, April 22, 1876. "How Cleopatra's Needle Is to Be Moved," New York Times, Aug. 1, 1875. "Cleopatra's Needle," New York Times, June 6, 1875. "Cleopatra's Needle," Illustrated London News, June 21, 1851. Listener mail: invaluable.disclaimer.biographer on What3words. "France Passes 'Sensory Heritage' Law After Plight of Maurice the Noisy Rooster," Guardian, Jan. 21, 2021. Kristof Van Rompaey, "Buur stapt naar vrederechter voor haan die dagelijks 'meer dan 3.000 keer' kraait: 'Ben wegdoen zou een klap zijn voor onze kinderen'," Gazet van Antwerpen, June 30, 2020. "The Gregorian Reform of the Calendar," Encyclopedia.com (accessed Mar. 6, 2021). "Gregorian Calendar," Encyclopaedia Britannica (accessed March 6, 2021). "Gregorian Calendar," Wikipedia (accessed Mar. 6, 2021). "Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar," Wikipedia (accessed Mar. 6, 2021). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tristan Shephard. 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!

15 Mars 202132min

Eugene Bullard ran away from home in 1907 to seek his fortune in a more racially accepting Europe. There he led a life of staggering accomplishment, becoming by turns a prizefighter, a combat pilot, a nightclub impresario, and a spy. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell Bullard's impressive story, which won him resounding praise in his adopted France. We'll also accidentally go to Canada and puzzle over a deadly omission. Intro: The melody of Peter Cornelius' "Ein Ton" is a single repeated note. Thomas Edison proposed the word hello to begin telephone conversations. Sources for our feature on Eugene Bullard: Tom Clavin and Phil Keith, All Blood Runs Red: The Legendary Life of Eugene Bullard -- Boxer, Pilot, Soldier, Spy, 2019. Gail Buckley, American Patriots: The Story of Blacks in the Military From the Revolution to Desert Storm, 2001. Jonathan Sutherland, African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, 2004. Alexander M. Bielakowski, Ethnic and Racial Minorities in the U.S. Military, 2013. Edmund L. Gros, "The Members of Lafayette Flying Corps," Flying 6:9 (October 1917), 776-778. James Norman Hall and Charles Bernhard Nordhoff, The Lafayette Flying Corps, 1920. John H. Wilson, "'All Blood Runs Red,'" Aviation History 17:4 (March 2007), 13-15. Brendan Manley, "France Commemorates WWI Lafayette Escadrille," Military History 33:3 (Sept. 2016), 8. Rachel Gillett, "Jazz and the Evolution of Black American Cosmopolitanism in Interwar Paris," Journal of World History 21:3 (September 2010), 471-495. Thabiti Asukile, "J.A. Rogers' 'Jazz at Home': Afro-American Jazz in Paris During the Jazz Age," The Black Scholar 40:3 (Fall 2010), 22-35. Tyler Stovall, "Strangers on the Seine: Immigration in Modern Paris," Journal of Urban History 39:4 (June 14, 2013), 807-813. Nicholas Hewitt, "Black Montmartre: American Jazz and Music Hall in Paris in the Interwar Years," Journal of Romance Studies 5:3 (Winter 2005), 25-31. Frederic J. Svoboda, "Who Was That Black Man?: A Note on Eugene Bullard and The Sun Also Rises," Hemingway Review 17:2 (Spring 1998), 105-110. "Air Force Honors Pioneering Pilot," Military History 36:6 (March 2020), 10. Ann Fotheringham, "Eugene Bullard," [Glasgow] Evening Times, June 8, 2020. Jeremy Redmon, "AJC Local In-Depth Georgia Hero," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 10, 2019. Jeremy Redmon, "Only in the AJC: Georgia Hero," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 7, 2019. Herb Boyd, "First Black Fighter Pilot, Eugene Bullard," New York Amsterdam News, Aug. 29, 2019. Janine Di Giovanni, "The Yanks Who Chose to Stay," [London] Evening Standard, March 23, 2009. Fred L. Borch and Robert F. Dorr, "Expatriate Boxer Was First Black American Combat Pilot," Air Force Times, Feb. 23, 2009. Brad Barnes, "'Flyboys' Uses Eugene Bullard as Model for Character," McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Sept. 22, 2006. Sherri M. Owens, "1st Black Combat Pilot: He Flew for Freedom," Orlando Sentinel, July 29, 2001. Michael Kilian, "Smithsonian to Honor First Black Combat Pilot," Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11, 1992, 6. "Exhibition Traces Role of Blacks in Aviation," New York Times, Sept. 26, 1982. "Eugene Bullard, Ex-Pilot, Dead; American Flew for French in '18," New York Times, Oct. 14, 1961. Dominick Pisano, "Eugene J. Bullard," Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Oct. 12, 2010. Robert Vanderpool, "African-American History Month: Eugene Bullard -- The First African-American Military Pilot," Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Feb. 29, 2016. Cori Brosnahan, "The Two Lives of Eugene Bullard," American Experience, PBS, April 3, 2017. Caroline M. Fannin, "Bullard, Eugène Jacques," American National Biography, October 2002. Listener mail: "A Tale of Two Sydneys: Dutch Teen Tries to Visit Australia, but Ends Up in Nova Scotia," CBC, March 30, 2017. Ashifa Kassam, "Land Down Blunder: Teen Heading to Australia Lands in Sydney, Nova Scotia," Guardian, March 31, 2017. "Italian Tourists End Up in Wrong Sydney," CBC, July 7, 2010. "Oops. British Couple Flies to Canada by Mistake," CBC News, Aug. 6, 2002. "No Kangaroos. But Can We Interest You in a Fiddle?" CBC News, Sept. 19, 2008. "What Is the Most Common City/Town Name in the United States?" U.S. Geological Survey (accessed Feb. 27, 2021). Robert C. Adams, On Board the "Rocket," 1879. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is taken from Anges Rogers' 1953 book How Come?: A Book of Riddles, sent to us by listener Jon Jerome. 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!

8 Mars 202133min