093-The Old Flying Days
In the early days of English aviation, journalist C.C. Turner seemed to be everywhere, witnessing bold new feats and going on some harrowing adventures of his own. In this week's episode of the Futili...
8 Feb 201633min
092-The Forgotten Amendment
In 1982, college sophomore Gregory Watson got a C on a term paper arguing that a long-forgotten constitutional amendment could still be ratified. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast ...
1 Feb 201629min
091-The Voyage of the Damned
In 1939, an ocean liner carrying 900 Jewish refugees left Nazi Germany seeking sanctuary in North America, but it was turned away by every nation it appealed to. In this week's episode of the Futility...
25 Jan 201634min
090-The Candy Bar War
In 1947, the price of a candy bar in British Columbia rose from 5 to 8 cents, and the local teenagers organized a surprisingly effective "strike" that soon spread across the country. In this week's ep...
18 Jan 201631min
089-An African From Baltimore
In the 1920s Bata Kindai Amgoza ibn LoBagola toured the United States and Europe to share the culture of his African homeland with fascinated audiences. The reality was actually much more mundane: His...
11 Jan 201631min
088-Mrs. Wilkinson and the Lyrebird
Almost nothing was known about Australia's elusive lyrebird until 1930, when an elderly widow named Edith Wilkinson encountered one on her garden path one February morning. In this week's episode of t...
4 Jan 201632min
087-A Sleuthing Cabbie, Edward VI's Homework, and a Self-Aware Crow
In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll share seven oddities from Greg's research, from Arthur Conan Doyle's encounter with a perceptive Boston cabbie to a computer's failed attemp...
28 Dec 201531min
086-Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends -- play along with us as we try to untangle some strange situations using only yes-or-no questions. Please consider b...
21 Dec 201530min
