Futility Closet

In 1830 Joseph Palmer created an odd controversy in Fitchburg, Massachusetts: He wore a beard when beards were out of fashion. For this social sin he was shunned, attacked, and ultimately jailed. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of a bizarre battle against irrational prejudice. We'll also see whether a computer can understand knitting and puzzle over an unrewarded long jump. Intro: Prospector William Schmidt dug through California's Copper Mountain. The bees of Bradfield, South Yorkshire, are customarily informed of funerals. Sources for our feature on Joseph Palmer: Stewart Holbrook, "The Beard of Joseph Palmer," American Scholar 13:4 (Autumn 1944), 451-458. Paul Della Valle, Massachusetts Troublemakers: Rebels, Reformers, and Radicals From the Bay State, 2009. John Matteson, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, 2010. Richard Corson, Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years, 2001. Stewart H. Holbrook, Lost Men of American History,