Useless Information Podcast

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you ended up being the last person alive on Earth? Back in 1960, the San Francisco Chronicle decided to send their hunting and fishing columnist Bud Boyd up into the Marble Mountains of California for six weeks to find out if one could really survive. Let's just say that everything did not go as planned... Also learn about Reynold B. Johnson's first big invention, a poison ivy lawsuit, a girl who believed that she caused a boy's death, and a dangerous tricycle driver. Retrosponsor: Delrich E-Z Color Margarine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When escaped slave Charles Nalle was arrested in Troy, NY on April 27, 1860, no one could have anticipated what happened next. With the help of Harriet Tubman, Nalle is believed to have been the only person in United States history to have been rescued from slavery four times. Also learn about when the first hard disk drive was invented, a woman killed by her lipstick, a guy forced to pay alimony for thirty years to a woman who wouldn't divorce him, and a guy who faked his own death. Retrosponsor: Birdseye Frozen Spinach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crazy story about an elderly monk and his wife who decided to adopt their 63-year-old doctor.  The doctor was then arrested for supposedly murdering his new mother. Also learn about the first two electric toys inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, a plea from the US government for spyglasses, the discovery of long-forgotten wine cellars, and a man who liked to hear glass tinkle.  Retrosponsor: ExLax. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just what happens when you write to the President of the United States to let him know that you have the same birthday as him?  A 13-year-old girl named Anna Sklepovich did just that and the results did not turn out as she had planned.  Also learn about a set of twins that shared a driver's license, a young girl's large inheritance, and thieves that tried to open the wrong safe.  Retrosponsor: Anacin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1935 a man carrying a sandwich-board sign stumbles across the find of a lifetime: A wallet containing the stocks certificates from Philips Petroleum, GE, and DuPont.  Find out what the press said that he did with the certificates, what really happened, and how he killed a man simply by staring at him.  Also, learn about a very long chess match, a baseball-playing porpoise, and the mule that causes three car accidents.  Retrosponsor: Wheatena Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1928, Clarence Frechette made national news for a bizarre attack that he made on the pilot of an airplane that he was aboard, possibly making him the world's first hijacker.  Amazingly, he was back in the news in 1935 for an equally bizarre crime.  Also learn about a guy that cut off his mother-in-law's nose, a woman who sought alimony from the wrong man, and a group of students that never intended to rob a bank.  Retrosponsor: Adler Elevator Shoes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 1955, Evert Stenmark was out hunting alone for ptarmigan when he became buried by an avalanche.  Day after day he remained trapped under the snow.  Learn how he survived and the one thing that he had in his wallet that probably saved his life.  Also hear the story of a man that suffered the bites from three different animals in the same day, a man that gave up his right arm for his daughter's health, and a woman that called off her wedding partly due to a horse named Wedding Expenses. Retrosponsor: Crisco Shortening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Peter Grainger walked into a US Army recruiting center in San Antonio, Texas back in 1951, he had quite the story to tell.  He had spent nearly his entire life living high in the mountains of New Mexico with virtually no contact with the outside world. But was there more to this story than what he was telling them?  Also learn about a man with the worst luck ever, a man who hopped the wrong train home, and mysterious movement on the moon.  Retrosponsor: Bab-O Cleanser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On an October day back in 1941, John Kmetz received a trial supply of herbal pills that would supposedly restore vitality to his 54-year-old body.  Shortly after taking the pills, Kmetz was dead.  Learn about the man suspected of the crime, another bizarre event that occurred prior to the murder, and his ultimate fate.  Also hear about a singer that kissed one too many women, a man who glued pennies to his desk, and car paint colors that lure beetles.  Retrosponsor: Trident gum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1953 Harold Jesse Berney, head of a Washington, DC television antenna manufacturing operation, was chosen by the US government to be its main contact with Uccelles, a prince visiting our planet from Venus.  If that sounds a bit bizarre, listen to this story to learn about one of the most fantastic swindles ever conceived.  Also learn about a man who was shot three times and suffered no injuries, the day the circus never came to town, and a truck that could no longer fit through the same garage by which it had entered.  Retrosponsor:  Eversharp Schick Injector Razors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Christmas episode.  Learn about a man named Joe Bonavita who returned to the Bowery in New York City every year to celebrate Christmas with those less fortunate. Also hear three shorter true stories about Santa getting into a bit of hot water.  Do you know the first really big hit song to contain Jesus in its lyrics? Listen to find out the answer.  Retrosponsor: Toni Home Permanent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most bizarre stories ever presented on this podcast. The nearly unbelievable true story about a woman hired to investigate another woman suspected in a jewel heist.  Also learn about two woman who thought that they were married to the same dying man, the surprising return of a man's coat years after he gave it away, and a woman who knitted a sweater for the troops during World War I.  Retrosponsor: Vitalis Hair Tonic.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you completely lost your memory?  In this true story, a man went nearly twenty years without remembering a single detail about his life.  Also learn why the US Postal Service had been purchasing large quantities of cat food, a bank robbery gone totally wrong, and why ice cream cones were once illegal in Washington, DC.  Retrosponsor: Hopper's White Clay Pack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Citicorp Tower in New York City opened in 1977, no one could have ever imagined that it was a fatally flawed building.  A phone call from a college student in New Jersey to the building's structural engineer may have saved tens of thousands of lives.  This story includes an interview with Lee DeCarolis, the student who made that call.  Also learn about a man that desired a woman that could cook applesauce, a couple that had six sets of twins, and a teacher that dared to go tieless.  Retrosponsor: Drene Shampoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should parents be held responsible for the crimes that their children commit? Listen to this story from 1947 detailing just what happened when New York City tried to do just that. Also learn about the countries that drink the most coffee, a ring-turning fad, sun lamp parties, and tattooed pantyhose. Retrosponsor: Fram Oil Filters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices