Convicted murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah in 1960. When asked if he had a last request, he replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”
USS Recruit: The Battleship That Never Touched Water
In 1917, the U.S. Navy built a wooden battleship in the middle of Manhattan. The USS Recruit had sailors, gun turrets, searchlights, and even dazzle camouflage. It also had absolutely no chance of floating. Somehow, it became a remarkable recruiting success.
Pedestrianism: How a Lost Presidential Election Bet Created One of America’s First Sports Celebrities
A lost bet on the 1860 presidential election sent Edward Payson Weston walking from Boston to Washington—and unexpectedly made him famous. His peculiar journey helped launch a career in pedestrianism, the once-massive spectator sport in which thousands paid to watch professional walkers circle tracks for days.
The Snail Telegraph: The 1850 “Wireless” Machine Powered by Telepathic Snails
In 1850, Jacques-Toussaint Benoît claimed he had invented wireless communication using paired snails, animal magnetism, and an elaborate brass contraption. The “snail telegraph” was scientifically hopeless—but its dream of instant global communication was oddly ahead of its time.
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