Futility Closet

In the 1870s, new farmsteads on the American plains were beset by enormous swarms of grasshoppers sweeping eastward from the Rocky Mountains. The insects were a disaster for vulnerable farmers, attacking in enormous numbers and devouring everything before them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the grasshopper plagues and the settlers' struggles against them. We'll also delve into urban legends and puzzle over some vanishing children. Intro: In 2001, a Washington earthquake drew a rose with a pendulum. In 2003, Japanese web designer Nobuyuki Kayahara created a curiously ambiguous animation. Sources for our feature on the grasshopper plagues: Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier, 2009. Annette Atkins, Harvest of Grief: Grasshopper Plagues and Public Assistance in Minnesota, 1873-78, 2003. Joanna Stratton, Pioneer Women, 2013. Samuel Clay Bassett, Buffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People

When Maria Marten disappeared from the English village of Polstead in 1827, her lover said that they had married and were living on the Isle of Wight. But Maria's stepmother began having disturbing dreams that hinted at a much grimmer fate. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Red Barn, which transfixed Britain in the early 19th century. We'll also encounter an unfortunate copycat and puzzle over some curious births. Intro: In 1859, a penurious Henry Thoreau donated $5 to a college library. Georges Perec rendered "Ozymandias" without the letter E. Sources for our feature on the Red Barn: James Curtis, The Murder of Maria Marten, 1828. Shane McCorristine, William Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body, 2014. Lucy Worsley, The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock, 2014. James Moore, Murder at the Inn: A History of Crime in Britain's Pubs and Hotels, 2015. Colin Wilson, A Ca

In 1952, New Zealander Tom Neale set out to establish a solitary life for himself on a remote island in the South Pacific. In all he would spend 17 years there, building a fulfilling life fending entirely for himself. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Neale's adventures on the island and his impressions of an isolated existence. We'll also revisit Scunthorpe and puzzle over a boat's odd behavior. Intro: A 17th-century London handbill advertised the virtues of coffee. In 1905 Mark Twain illustrated the full meaning of a prayer for military victory. Sources for our feature on Tom Neale: Tom Neale, An Island to Oneself: The Story of Six Years on a Desert Island, 1966. Dom Degnon, Sails Full and By, 1995. James C. Simmons, Castaway in Paradise: The Incredible Adventures of True-Life Robinson Crusoes, 1998. Nataša Potocnik, "Robert Dean Frisbie -- An American Writer in the South Pacific," Acta Neophilologica 33:1-2 (2000), 93-105. Joseph Bockrath, "Law on Remote Islands: The Co

In 1896, Norwegian immigrant Helga Estby faced the foreclosure of her family's Washington farm. To pay the debt she accepted a wager to walk across the United States within seven months. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow her daring bid to win the prize, and its surprising consequence. We'll also toast Edgar Allan Poe and puzzle over a perplexing train. Intro: The Dutch and French words for kidney are reversals of one another. In Japan, Douglas Adams encountered a new conception of persistence. Sources for our feature on Helga Estby: Linda Lawrence Hunt, Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America, 2007. Margaret Riddle, "Estby, Helga (1860-1942)," HistoryLink, Sept. 23, 2011. Stefanie Pettit, "Helga Estby a Walking Tale," Spokesman Review, July 9, 2015, S.8. Pia Hallenberg Christensen, "Cross-Country Walk Inspires Women," [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman Review, May 3, 2008, B.1. Chris Rodkey, "Women Get No Mileage From Cross-Country Trek," Los Angeles Times,

In the 1930s the world's best-known conservationist was an ex-trapper named Grey Owl who wrote and lectured ardently for the preservation of the Canadian wilderness. At his death, though, it was discovered that he wasn't who he'd claimed to be. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of his curious history and complicated legacy. We'll also learn how your father can be your uncle and puzzle over a duplicate record. Intro: Dutch engineer Theo Jansen builds sculptures that walk. Helen Fouché Gaines' 1956 cryptanalysis textbook ends with a cipher that "nobody has ever been able to decrypt." Sources for our feature on Grey Owl: Donald B. Smith, From the Land of Shadows: The Making of Grey Owl, 2000. Albert Braz, Apostate Englishman: Grey Owl the Writer and the Myths, 2015. Jane Billinghurst, Grey Owl: The Many Faces of Archie Belaney, 1999. Allison Mitcham, Grey Owl's Favorite Wilderness Revisited, 1991. Lovat Dickson, Wilderness Man: The Strange Story of Grey Owl, 1973. Anahar

1930 saw the quiet conclusion of a remarkable era. The tiny population of St. Kilda, an isolated Scottish archipelago, decided to end their thousand-year tenure as the most remote community in Britain and move to the mainland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the remarkable life they'd shared on the island and the reasons they chose to leave. We'll also track a stork to Sudan and puzzle over the uses of tea trays. Intro: Reportedly the 3rd Earl of Darnley believed he was a teapot. Henry Hudson's journal records a 1610 encounter with a mermaid. Sources for our feature on St. Kilda: Charles MacLean, Island on the Edge of the World: The Story of St Kilda, 1972. Tom Steel, The Life and Death of St. Kilda: The Moving Story of a Vanished Island Community, 2011. Andrew Fleming, St Kilda and the Wider World: Tales of an Iconic Island, 2005. Alexander Buchan, A Description of St. Kilda, The Most Remote Western Isle of Scotland, 1741. Martin Martin, A Voyage to St. Kilda, 1749. Geor

At the turn of the 20th century, a rogue tiger terrorized the villages of Nepal and northern India. By the time British hunter Jim Corbett was called in, it had killed 434 people. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Corbett's pursuit of the elusive cat, and his enlightened efforts to address the source of the problem. We'll also revisit a Confederate spy and puzzle over a bloody ship. Intro: Ralph Beaman devised a sentence that ends with 15 prepositions. The stones of Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park chime when struck. Sources for our feature on the Champawat tiger: Jim Corbett, Man-Eaters of Kumaon, 1944. Dane Huckelbridge, No Beast So Fierce: The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Man-Eater in History, 2019. Hemanta Mishra, Bones of the Tiger: Protecting the Man-Eaters of Nepal, 2010. Nayanika Mathur, Paper Tiger, 2016. Sujeet Kumar Singh, et al., "Understanding Human–Tiger Conflict Around Corbett Tiger Reserve India: A Case Study Using Forensic G

Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Ixonia, Wisconsin, was named at random. Ben Franklin harnessed the power of long-term interest to make large gifts to Boston and Philadelphia. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In two places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from listener Gabriel Bizcarra. Puzzle #2 is adapted from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Puzzle #3 is from Greg. Puzzle #4 is from listener Peter Quinn. Puzzle #5 is from Greg. Here are two links. Puzzle #6 is from Sharon. Two links. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can

In the winter of 1931, a dramatic manhunt unfolded in northern Canada when a reclusive trapper shot a constable and fled across the frigid landscape. In the chase that followed the mysterious fugitive amazed his pursuers with his almost superhuman abilities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the hunt for the "Mad Trapper of Rat River." We'll also visit a forgotten windbreak and puzzle over a father's age. Intro: Korean soldier Yang Kyoungjong was conscripted successively by Japan, the Soviet Union, and Germany. In 1978, Arnold Rosenberg examined idioms to trace a path to the most incomprehensible natural language. RCMP constable Alfred King is at far left in the photo; constable Edgar Millen is second from right. Sources for our feature on Albert Johnson: Dick North, Mad Trapper of Rat River: A True Story of Canada's Biggest Manhunt, 2005. Barbara Smith, The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery, 2011. Richard C. Davis, "The Mad Trapper, by Rudy Wiebe," Arctic 35:2 (1982), 342.

As the Civil War fractured Washington D.C., socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow coordinated a vital spy ring to funnel information to her beloved Confederates. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Greenhow's courage and resourcefulness, which won praise from Jefferson Davis and notoriety in the North. We'll also fragment the queen's birthday and puzzle over a paid game of pinball. Intro: German officer Ernst Jünger likened the sounds of World War I shelling to "being menaced by a man swinging a heavy hammer." Bowdoin College compiled a list of odd how-to titles. Sources for our feature on Rose O'Neal Greenhow: Ann Blackman, Wild Rose: Rose O'Neale Greenhow, Civil War Spy, 2006. Ishbel Ross, Rebel Rose: Life of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy, 1954. Karen Abbott, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, 2014. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington, 1863. H. Donald Winkler, Stealing Secrets: How a F

In 1961, Goya's famous portrait of the Duke of Wellington went missing from London's National Gallery. The case went unsolved for four years before someone unexpectedly came forward to confess to the heist. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe one of the greatest art thefts in British history and the surprising twists that followed. We'll also discover Seward's real folly and puzzle over a man's motherhood. Intro: One of the desks on the U.S. Senate floor is full of candy. Astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich into space. The following list of "Sasha Spottings" comes from Brandi Sweet, caretaker of Bella, Ojo, Schatzi, Babu, and Atte: Episode 9 Episode 46 Episode 63 Episode 114 Episode 139 Episode 144 Episode 146 ("mentioned as purring but I couldn't hear her") Episode 148 Episode 156 Episode 164 Episode 168 Episode 173 Episode 183 Episode 201 Episode 207 Episode 215 Sources for our feature on Kempton Bunton and Goya's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington: Alan Hi

In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee brought new rigor to crime scene analysis with a curiously quaint tool: She designed 20 miniature scenes of puzzling deaths and challenged her students to investigate them analytically. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death and their importance to modern investigations. We'll also appreciate an overlooked sled dog and puzzle over a shrunken state. Intro: In a lecture at Cornell, Vladimir Nabokov considered Gregor Samsa's new species. Siren Elise Wilhelmsen taught a clock to knit a scarf. Flickr and the Smithsonian American Art Museum have image galleries of Frances Glessner Lee's nutshell studies. Sources for our story: Corinne May Botz, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, 2004. Frances Glessner Lee, "Legal Medicine at Harvard University," Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science 42:5 (January-February 1952), 674-678. M. Uebel, "Corpus Delicti: Frances Glessner Lee and the Art o

In 1909, 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsey set out to become the first woman to drive across the United States. In an era of imperfect cars and atrocious roads, she would have to find her own way and undertake her own repairs across 3,800 miles of rugged, poorly mapped terrain. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow Ramsey on her historic journey. We'll also ponder the limits of free speech and puzzle over some banned candy. Intro: Journalist Henri de Blowitz received the Treaty of Berlin in the lining of a hat. In 1895 John Haberle painted a slate so realistic that viewers were tempted to use it. Sources for our feature on Alice Ramsey: Alice Ramsey and Gregory M. Franzwa, Alice's Drive: Republishing Veil, Duster, and Tire Iron, 2005. Curt McConnell, A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It: The First Coast-to-Coast Auto Trips by Women, 1899-1916, 2000. Women's Project of New Jersey, Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women, 1997. Catherine Gourley, Gibson Girls and Suffragists:

In 1822, Irish thief Alexander Pearce joined seven convicts fleeing a penal colony in western Tasmania. As they struggled eastward through some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, starvation pressed the party into a series of grim sacrifices. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the prisoners on their nightmarish bid for freedom. We'll also unearth another giant and puzzle over an eagle's itinerary. Intro: Two presenters at an 1884 AAAS meeting reported on "musical sand" at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. In scenes of pathos, Charles Dickens often slipped into blank verse. Sources for our feature on Alexander Pearce: Paul Collins, Hell's Gates, 2014. Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding, 2012. Robert Cox, A Compulsion to Kill: The Surprising Story of Australia's Earliest Serial Killers, 2014. Jane Stadler, Peta Mitchell, and Stephen Carleton, Imagined Landscapes: Geovisualizing Australian Spatial Narratives, 2015. "Alexander Pearce," Convict Recor

In 1902, scam artist Cassie Chadwick convinced an Ohio lawyer that she was the illegitimate daughter of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. She parlayed this reputation into a life of unthinkable extravagance -- until her debts came due. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Chadwick's efforts to maintain the ruse -- and how she hoped to get away with it. We'll also encounter a haunted tomb and puzzle over an exonerated merchant. Intro: Inventor Otis L. Boucher offered a steel suit for soldiers during World War I. The tippe top leaps up onto its stem when spun. Sources for our feature on Cassie Chadwick: Kerry Segrave, Women Swindlers in America, 1860-1920, 2014. Alan F. Dutka, Misfortune on Cleveland's Millionaires' Row, 2015. George C. Kohn, The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal, 2001. William Henry Theobald, Defrauding the Government: True Tales of Smuggling, From the Note-book of a Confidential Agent of the United States Treasury, 1908. Karen Abbott, "The High Priestess of F

In 1978, two luminaries of South Korean cinema were abducted by Kim Jong-Il and forced to make films in North Korea in an outlandish plan to improve his country's fortunes. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok and their dramatic efforts to escape their captors. We'll also examine Napoleon's wallpaper and puzzle over an abandoned construction. Intro: In 1891, Robert Baden-Powell encoded the locations of Dalmatian forts in innocent drawings of butterflies. Legal scholar Mark V. Tushnet suggests how a 16-year-old might seek the presidency. Sources for our feature on Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-Ok: Paul Fischer, A Kim Jong-Il Production, 2015. Johannes Schönherr, North Korean Cinema: A History, 2012. Steven Chung, Split Screen Korea: Shin Sang-ok and Postwar Cinema, 2014. Bradley K. Martin, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, 2007. "Choi Eun-hee: South Korean Actress Who Was Kidnapped by North Dies,"

One night in 1631, pirates from the Barbary coast stole ashore at the little Irish village of Baltimore and abducted 107 people to a life of slavery in Algiers -- a rare instance of African raiders seizing white slaves from the British Isles. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the sack of Baltimore and the new life that awaited the captives in North Africa. We'll also save the Tower of London and puzzle over a controversial number. Intro: In 1999, inventor Allison Andrews proposed dividing all our pants in half. In 1955, test pilot Alvin Johnston put an airliner through a barrel roll. Sources for our feature on the sack of Baltimore: Des Ekin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates, 2012. Nabil Matar, British Captives From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, 2014. David D. Hebb, Piracy and the English Government 1616–1642: Policy-Making Under the Early Stuarts, 2016. Sir Robert Lambert Playfair, The Scourge of Christendom: Annals of British Relations With Algie

Ferdinand Demara earned his reputation as the Great Impostor: For over 22 years he criss-crossed the country, posing as everything from an auditor to a zoologist and stealing a succession of identities to fool his employers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review Demara's motivation, morality, and techniques -- and the charismatic spell he seemed to cast over others. We'll also make Big Ben strike 13 and puzzle over a movie watcher's cat. Intro: In 1825, Thomas Steele proposed enclosing Isaac Newton's residence in a pyramid surmounted by a stone globe. In 1923 Arthur Guiterman found a rhyme for wasp. Sources for our feature on Ferdinand Demara: Robert Crichton, The Great Impostor, 1959. Robert Crichton, The Rascal and the Road, 1961. Frank E. Hagan, Introduction to Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior, 2008. Joe McCarthy, "The Master Imposter: An Incredible Tale," Life, Jan. 28, 1952. Susan Goldenberg, "Unmasked," Canada's History 91:1 (February/March 2011), 31-3

In 1929, detective novelist Arthur Upfield wanted to devise the perfect murder, so he started a discussion among his friends in Western Australia. He was pleased with their solution -- until local workers began disappearing, as if the book were coming true. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Murchison murders, a disturbing case of life imitating art. We'll also incite a revolution and puzzle over a perplexing purchase. Intro: Jacques Jouet wrote a love poem in the language of Tarzan's great apes. To accompany Apollo 11, the president of Ivory Coast wrote a message to the moon. Above: Snowy Rowles with James Ryan's car, photographed by Arthur Upfield. Sources for our feature on the Murchison murders: Arthur Upfield, The Murchison Murders, 1932. Arthur Upfield, The Sands of Windee, 1931. Arthur Upfield, Up and Down the Real Australia, 2009. Jack Coulter, With Malice Aforethought, 1982. James Morton and Susanna Lobez, Dangerous to Know: An Australasian Crime Compendium, 200