Coffin Torpedoes: When 19th-Century Americans Booby-Trapped the Dead to Stop Grave Robbers
P.K. Clover’s 1878 coffin torpedo was designed to stop grave robbers with an explosive surprise buried alongside the deceased.
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Coffin Torpedoes: When 19th-Century Americans Booby-Trapped the Dead to Stop Grave Robbers
Read more: Coffin Torpedoes: When 19th-Century Americans Booby-Trapped the Dead to Stop Grave RobbersP.K. Clover’s 1878 coffin torpedo was designed to stop grave robbers with an explosive surprise buried alongside the deceased.
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Britain’s Post Office Cats: The Mousers Who Were Government Employees
Read more: Britain’s Post Office Cats: The Mousers Who Were Government EmployeesBritain’s Post Office cats caught mice, earned maintenance allowances, passed performance reviews, and even became the subject of debate in Parliament.
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The Comedy Genius of Lum and Abner: The Old-Time Radio Comedy That Built a Town Out of Thin Air
Read more: The Comedy Genius of Lum and Abner: The Old-Time Radio Comedy That Built a Town Out of Thin AirDiscover how Lum and Abner transformed two Arkansas voices into Pine Ridge, a beloved radio town that inspired films, comics, and a real town’s new name.
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February 30, 1712: The Day Sweden Made an Impossible Date Real
Read more: February 30, 1712: The Day Sweden Made an Impossible Date RealIn 1712, Sweden officially had a February 30 after a bungled calendar reform left the country using a calendar all its own.
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Mary Ward: The Scientist Remembered as the First Car Fatality—Before Cars Really Existed
Read more: Mary Ward: The Scientist Remembered as the First Car Fatality—Before Cars Really ExistedMary Ward was a pioneering Irish scientist whose 1869 death became the first recorded automobile fatality. Discover the remarkable woman behind the trivia.
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The British Hat Tax: When Wearing the Wrong Hat Could Cost You Dearly
Read more: The British Hat Tax: When Wearing the Wrong Hat Could Cost You DearlyDiscover the story behind the British Hat Tax, requiring licenses and tax stamps—and forging one of those stamps could carry the death penalty.
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The Hogan’s Heroes Actors Who Fled Hitler, Fought Nazis, and Survived the Holocaust
Read more: The Hogan’s Heroes Actors Who Fled Hitler, Fought Nazis, and Survived the HolocaustDiscover the remarkable WWII stories behind the Hogan’s Heroes cast, including Jewish refugees, U.S. veterans, and Holocaust survivor Robert Clary.
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The Oxford Electric Bell: The Battery That Has Been Running Since 1840
Read more: The Oxford Electric Bell: The Battery That Has Been Running Since 1840The Oxford Electric Bell has been running on the same batteries since 1840. Discover how this mysterious device has kept going for more than 185 years.
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Robert Chesebrough: The Man Who Turned Oil-Rig Gunk Into Vaseline—and Used Himself as the Demo
Read more: Robert Chesebrough: The Man Who Turned Oil-Rig Gunk Into Vaseline—and Used Himself as the DemoDiscover how Robert Chesebrough turned oil-rig waste into Vaseline, injured himself to prove it worked, and reportedly ate a spoonful every day.
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Trial by Combat Was Still Legal in England in 1818
Read more: Trial by Combat Was Still Legal in England in 1818In 1818, an English murder defendant demanded trial by combat—and the court ruled it was still legal. Discover the strange case of Ashford v. Thornton.
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The Great Hedge of India: When Britain Built a Living Wall to Stop Salt Smugglers
Read more: The Great Hedge of India: When Britain Built a Living Wall to Stop Salt SmugglersDiscover the Great Hedge of India, the massive 19th-century barrier Britain built to stop salt smuggling and enforce colonial taxes.
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The Erfurt Latrine Disaster of 1184: When Politics Literally Went Down the Toilet
Read more: The Erfurt Latrine Disaster of 1184: When Politics Literally Went Down the ToiletIn 1184, a peace meeting in Erfurt ended when the floor collapsed and nobles plunged into a cesspit. The bizarre Erfurt Latrine Disaster was real.
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Margaret Knight: The Woman Who Reinvented the Paper Bag—and Had to Prove It
Read more: Margaret Knight: The Woman Who Reinvented the Paper Bag—and Had to Prove ItMeet Margaret Knight, the overlooked inventor who revolutionized the flat-bottom paper bag and fought a patent battle to prove the machine was hers.
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Benjamin Franklin’s Rules for How to Lose a Great Empire in 20 Easy Steps
Read more: Benjamin Franklin’s Rules for How to Lose a Great Empire in 20 Easy StepsBenjamin Franklin explained how to lose a great empire in 20 easy steps. Explore his hilarious 1773 satire—and why Britain should have taken the hint.
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Mary Toft and the Great Rabbit Birth Hoax of 1726
Read more: Mary Toft and the Great Rabbit Birth Hoax of 1726Discover the bizarre true story of Mary Toft, the woman who convinced 18th-century doctors that she was giving birth to rabbits.
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