Rapscallions!
"Patience is Sour"
Thomas Henry Hines had a cunning plan to free Confederate prisoners-of-war and establish a "Northwest Confederacy." Too bad it was doomed to fail.
Categories: History, Series 14
Published:
"Chicago, IL"
The Second City has seen a lot of strange characters pass through over the years. Here are a few of their stories.
A Month of Billys
was Billy Sunday good at baseball?
Billy Sunday was America's foremost evangelist, whose admirers included young men, ex-presidents, and titans of industry... but how was his baserunning?
Categories: Biography, Series 13, Sports & Leisure
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Holy Ghost Babies
ten times worse than Brigham Young (or so they say)
George Jacob Schweinfurth was a charlatan who mocked religion, stole money, and despoiled women with his hypnotic powers. Then he did something unexpected.
Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, People & Places, Series 11
Published:
The White City
an interview with Michael Finney of the Chicago 1893 Project
We're talking with Michael Finney about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, what it meant to the city and the nation, and resurrecting it augmented reality.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Feats of Building & Engineering, Series 10
Published:
Marching to Shibboleth
a sordid story of faith healing, financial fraud, flat Eartherism, and figs
Forty miles north of Chicago lies Zion, IL, a sleepy city with a sordid history of faith healing, financial fraud, flat Eartherism... and figs?
Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, People & Places, Series 6
Published:
The Terror of Gillikin Country
they terrorized the rust belt for years, and the cops were none the wiser
For years the Torso Burchianti Gang terrorized the Monongahela Valley. It turned out the gang wasn't quite as fearsome as the cops thought...
Categories: People & Places, Series 6
Published:
We Live Inside
greetings from the inside of the Hollow Earth
Dr. Cyrus Reed Teed may have been a madman, or the Messiah, but only he was bold enough to tell the truth: that we live on the inside of a hollow Earth.
Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, Most Popular, People & Places, Series 4
Published:
Spirit Princess
one woman, thirty aliases, forty years and too many crimes to count
The greatest and most notorious Spiritualist swindler of all time was a woman from Kentucky who looked a bit like Lola Montez (if you squinted).
Categories: Biography, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Series 3
Published:
Goodnight, Irene
an icon finally gets her due
The story of the "weeping icon" has it all - a 102-year-old flying nun, the Gulf War, armed robbery, John Gotti, religious schism, and insurance fraud. Hear the amazing truth in this week's episode, "Goodnight, Irene"!
Categories: Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, People & Places, Series 2
Published:
The Ugliest Man in Baseball
big, rugged, and in his way, beautiful
He may have had the best worst nickname in baseball, but "Ugly" Johnny Dickshot was more than just a pretty face. He was also a character.
Categories: Biography, Series 1, Sports & Leisure
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