Futility Closet

In 1799 two Royal Navy ships met on the Caribbean Sea, and their captains discovered they were parties to a mind-boggling coincidence that would expose a crime and make headlines around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the shark papers, one of the strangest coincidences in maritime history. We'll also meet some Victorian kangaroos and puzzle over an expedient fire. Intro: Hungarian composer György Ligeti wrote a symphonic poem for 100 metronomes. In 1935 a 7-year-old Berliner fell in love with Adolf Hitler. Sources for our feature on the shark papers: Edgar K. Thompson, "Tale of the Nancy Brig," Mariner's Mirror 56:1 (January 1970), 97-104. D.A. Proctor, "Notes: Michael Fitton," Mariner's Mirror 79:2 (May 1993), 206-208. Edward Warren Guyol, "The Navy, the Shark, and the 'Nancy' Brig," Harper's Weekly 52:2708 (Nov. 14, 1908), 29. W.J. Fletcher, "Michael Fitton," Temple Bar 114:5 (July 1898), 350-364. Clinton Vane de Brosse Black, Tales of Old Jamaica, 1