Daniel Sickles Lost His Leg In The Civil War, But Also Never Really Went Without It
When Daniel Sickles lost his leg at Gettysburg, he had it mounted and put on display at a medical museum.
The Guy Who Took The Famous Photos Of A Galloping Horse Also Killed A Guy
Eadweard Muybridge's photos of a galloping horse essentially led to what we know now as motion pictures. But it wouldn’t have taken nearly as long if Muybridge hadn’t been put on trial for murder (!)
When The “Kenneth, What Is The Frequency” Guy Attacked Dan Rather And Inspired An R.E.M. Song
In 1986 a guy mugged one of the most famous people in TV news, all the while shouting “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” And that's only the beginning of the story.
The Toronto Circus Riot Started Because Clowns Fought Firefighters At A Brothel
July 13, 1855 is the date of the Toronto Circus Riot, an event which sounds baffling and bizarre from the name alone, but the details are even weirder.
An Ad In The 70s Had Awful Advice For Bowlers: “Beat Your Wife Tonight”
In the 1970s some people in the bowling industry thought they’d come up with a clever way to get more people to the lanes, but they chose poorly when it came to the words.
On Live TV, The Show Must Go On, Even If A Cast Member Collapses And Dies
Live broadcasting is a place where a lot can go wrong. Like a 1950s broadcast in the UK in which a key actor in a live drama had a fatal heart attack mid-show.
When The U.S. And North Korea Teamed Up To Fight Pirates
The U.S. and North Korea aren't exactly chummy, and yet once, in 2007, the U.S. Navy came to the aid of a North Korean ship that had been taken over by pirates in Somalia - and Pyongyang publicly thanked the Americans for their help!
AI Phone Bots Foil Scammers By Wasting Their Time
Some experts are worried AI could undo human civilization, but some of it is trying to help people. Like a project that uses AI phone bots to keep phone scammers from scamming people.
Getting A Thousand Bucks In Oily Pennies In Your Driveway Is One Way To Wrap Up A Job
Leaving a job usually means wrapping things up with your soon to be ex-employer including getting a final paycheck. But here’s the story of a guy who got a pretty unpleasant sendoff.
The Secret Service Has An Ink Library To Foil Crimes
Today in 1865 the US Secret Service formed to stamp out counterfeit money. As part of that effort, it has the International Ink Library, tens of thousands of vintage and modern inks to help investigators sort out what’s what.