Futility Closet

In January 1888, after a disarming warm spell, a violent storm of blinding snow and bitter cold suddenly struck the American Midwest, trapping farmers in fields, travelers on roads, and hundreds of children in schoolhouses with limited fuel. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the Children's Blizzard, one of the most harrowing winter storms in American history. We'll also play 20 Questions with a computer and puzzle over some vanishing vultures. Intro: In 1835 an assassin shot two good pistols at Andrew Jackson and both misfired. In 1958 Brooklyn College chemistry professor Homer Jacobson built a self-replicating model train. Sources for our feature on the Children's Blizzard: David Laskin, The Children's Blizzard, 2004. Mitchell Newton-Matza, ed., Disasters and Tragic Events, 2014. Steven L. Horstmeyer, The Weather Almanac, 2011. "The Pitiless Blizzard," Aurora Daily Express, Jan. 16, 1888. "Victims of the Storm," Bridgeport Morning News, Jan. 19, 1888. "In the Neighborho