Futility Closet

Australia's Westfield ultramarathon had a surprise entrant in 1983: A 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young joined a field of elite professional runners for the 500-mile race from Sydney to Melbourne. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Young's fortunes in the race and the heart, tenacity, and humor that endeared him to a nation. We'll also learn the difference between no and nay and puzzle over a Japanese baby shortage. Intro: Thomas Wedders exhibited his 7.5-inch nose throughout Yorkshire in the 1770s. Two meteorologists played ping-pong on a solid block of snow atop Scotland's Ben Nevis in 1902. Sources for our feature on Cliff Young: Julietta Jameson, Cliffy: The Cliff Young Story, 2013. Phil Essam, ed., I've Finally Found My Hero, 2016. Matthew Ricketson, "Cliff's Not Finished Yet," The Age, Nov. 29, 1983. J. Freeman, "Cliff Calls It a Day," Telegraph, April 17, 1985. Greg Truman, "A Long-Running Favorite Draws to an End," The Advertiser, May 5, 1986. Louise Evan