Useless Information Podcast show

Useless Information Podcast

Summary: Podcasting since 2008! - It really is all true! Quirky, bizarre, and unusual stories from the Flip Side of History.

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Podcasts:

 UI #117 - The Adventure of a Lifetime | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2674

In 1957, three Chicago aluminum awning salesmen decided to quit the jobs and sail to Africa to join in on the lucrative illegal diamond trade. They were in for a wild ride along with a very big surprise waiting for them at the end.  Also learn about Thomas "Tough Tommy" Holden, Three critical reviews of popular musical acts from the 1970's are featured: Carole King, The Carpenters, and an incredibly brutal review of the rock group Heart. Retrosponsor: Fleischmann's Yeast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #116 - The Walking Murphys | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2636

Long forgotten headline story about a family who lost everything in the Great Kansas flood of 1951. Yet, all was not as it seemed...  Also learn about what a Lucy Stoner is, a man who used handcuffs to hitchhike, twins who were hitchhiking around the world, and a father and son who were reunited through hitchhiking. Retrosponsor: Mahdeen Shampoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #115 - The Monster Crash at Crush | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2944

During the late 1800's and early 1900's, people around the United States gathered to watch two trains being smashed together.  As a PR stunt, W.G. Crush organized one of these crashes for the Kay Railroad near West, Texas. More than 20,000 spectators were in the audience when it all went horribly wrong.  Also learn about the first state to adopt Labor Day as an official holiday, a 6-year-old who purchased a lot of candy and toys, a railway clerk who had 70-lb package of ants sitting on his desk, and a fight for a parking spot in Kansas City. Retrosponsor: Chicago Motor Club Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #114 - Baby Moses | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1858

Pearl River, Louisiana resident Effie Crawford made the most startling discovery on November 11, 1936. Moving through the brush near her home she spotted a large dog carrying an unusual package in its mouth. She grabbed the bundle and opened it to find that it contained a newborn baby. Also learn the difference between a tree and a shrub, a town that hoarded shiny 1902 pennies, a man kept alive as friends pumped his arms up and down, and someone who took advantage of a motel that offered free TV. Retrosponsor: Gefilte Fish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #113 - Mile-A-Minute Murphy | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2617

The world's fastest bicyclist in the 1890's was Charles Minthorp Murphy and he was certain that there was no locomotive on Earth that could go faster than he could. To prove this, Murphy set a goal to ride one-mile in one-minute, a speed that few locomotives could achieve back then. It was the classic battle of man vs. machine. Also learn about the most popular song ever on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, a woman who gave birth twice in a taxi cab, the controversial first self-service gas stations, and a man who was convinced that he was being followed for miles. Retrosponsor: Mollé Shaving Cream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #112 - A Journey to the Center of the Earth | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2392

John Cleves Symmes was a popular lecturer back in the 1820's. Not only did Symmes believe that Newton got the concept of gravity totally wrong, he proposed that the Earth had a hollow interior and that one could enter this subterranean world via large holes at each of our poles. Symmes attracted a large number of supporters and his planned voyage to the North Pole was, at one point, debated and voted on by Congress. Also learn about the groundbreaking publication that Sir Edmund Halley financed, a scientist who suggested that the two moons of Mars were artificial, the relationship between gout and intelligence, and that the best cure for the hiccups may be sticking a rubber tube up your nose.  Retrosponsor: DuPont. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #111 - Dick the Dog | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2216

Pennsylvania resident Jacob Silverman made national headlines back in 1922 for the crime of owning a dog named Dick within the commonwealth.  The law at the time required that Dick be killed simply because he was owned by Jacob. Could something be done to save Dick's life? Also learn about the only movie on the Internet Database website not rated on a scale of 1 to 10, a London woman who fed wild rats, the first cow to fly in an airplane, and a man who had his life saved by a turtle. Retrosponsor: Snickers candy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Useless Information Podcast Bonus Episode #1 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1739

Bonus episode that includes an interview that I did back in 2014 with Lene Bech Sillesen and a recording of the NBC live news report when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #110 - Wife for Sale | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2807

In 1948, Dorothy Lawlor decided to take an ad out in the Newsday newspaper seeking a husband in exchange for $10,000. Within twenty-four hours she became a media sensation. Did she really marry one of these men?  The answer may surprise you.  Includes an interview with her granddaughter.  Also learn the original color of Muppet Oscar the Grouch, a 74-year-old man who advertised for his third wife, a woman who sought a husband to help pay off her debts, and a stenographer who lost her job after placing a personal ad in the newspaper. Retrosponsor: Canada Dry Club Water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #109 - The Case of the Phantom Vegetable Oil | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2819

In the late 1950's and early 1960's, Anthony "Tino" De Angelis ran a global salad oil empire. Find out how Tino grew his business so quickly, his shocking downfall, how JFK’s assassination ties into the story, and the way that one of the world's richest men today made a good chunk of change off of everyone else’s misfortune.  Also learn about the original name for the game Twister, a doctor or strongly discouraged excessive exercisem a glue sniffing fad, and people that consumed lemon-scented dish soap.  Retrosponsor: Title Insurance and Trust Co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #108 - The Man Who Gave Away His Birthday | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3010

When author Robert Louis Stevenson learned that young Vermont native Annie Ide hated her Christmas birthday, he decided to deed his own birthday to her. Listen to this episode to learn how she celebrated her new birthday and what happened after she died.  Also learn about when the first Christmas card was printed, a man who got a living doll for Christmas, a boy who tried to emulate Santa, and a recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrosponsor: Hallmark Cards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #107 - The First Transatlantic Airplane Race | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3163

 In May of 1929, Old Orchard Beach in Maine was the site for an airplane race that pitted the smaller, more nimble American Green Flash against larger, more powerful French Yellow Bird. Anticipation mounted for weeks as the two planes attempted to get off the ground. Also, learn about the world's first airline, a man who clung to the fuselage of an airplane, a man sucked into a jet engine, and an astronaut impersonator. Retrosponsor: Northwest Orient Airlines  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #106 - Elixir of Death | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2193

When the S.E. Massengill Co. introduced its Elixir Sulfanilamide to the market in September 1937, there was no law in the United States requiring pharmaceutical companies to test their medicines for toxicity. In just the short time that this elixir produced, it took the lives of more than 100 people, many of whom were young children. Also learn about the world's most popular medicine, how the next generation of children were predicted to have teeth like Bugs Bunny, a woman who won a TV contest to get her nose fixed, and the relationship between breast size and intelligence.  Retrosponsor: Massengill Medicated Disposable Douche.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #105 - Le Mars Trilogy: Part 3 - Maybelle Trow Knox | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2852

During desperate times some people are forced to do desperate things. The trick is to not get caught. Let's just say that Maybelle Trow Knox was not very good at that last part. Also learn the real name of Scooby Doo's best friend Shaggy, how Scooby Doo got his name, a teacher who used an electric chair to punish students, a girl too afraid to show her report card, and a boy who placed his loose tooth in his ear. Retrosponsor: Arrid deodorant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 UI #104 - Le Mars Trilogy: Part 2 - Farmers in Revolt | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1884

The Great Depression was an awful time for farmers in Iowa.  It culminated with the near hanging of a judge in Le Mars. It just happens that the farm involved was owned by the T.M. Zink estate, the same man who left his savings for the establishment of a womanless library.  Also learn about the only planet in our solar system where its day is longer that its year and three unusual stories involving marriage annulment.  Retrosponsor: Spry Vegetable Shortening Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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