Unhuman Animals
the Salus-Grady Libel Act of 1903
The greatest political cartoonists of the day, vs an easily caricatured governor with no sense of humor.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Entertainment & Media, Series 15
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Episodes
Such Was Railroading
the Castle Shannon Railway War
Milton D. Hays just wanted to run a railroad like a tyrant, and his complete lack of ethics allowed him to realize that dream.
Categories: Feats of Building & Engineering, Series 15, Wild Card
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There Must Come a Change
the triumph and tragedy of Octavius Valentine Catto
Octavius Valentine Catto was a man for all seasons. He could have been the leader Philadelphia needed... if he hadn't been murdered.
Categories: Biography, History, Series 15
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Samozvantsy
false Dmitry's in Russia's time of Troubles
It was 1584 and Ivan IV, Ivan the Terrible, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, was dead. The boyars of Russia now had a momentous decision to make: who would rule? Only two of Ivan’s children had managed to survive to adulthood: the Tsareviches Ivan and Fedor. Fortunately for Russia, Ivan’s oldest son Ivan […]
Categories: History, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, Series 15
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The Choice of the Next Generation
the Cola Wars in space
War! The balance of power in the Cola Wars has been shifting for years. Coke has swept into NASA and is about to send its signature beverage into orbit, but not if the Pepsi has anything to say about it...
Categories: Man's Amazing Inventions, Series 14, The Enigma of Space, Wild Card
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The Number of the Stars
are there really twelve planets?
New Age types keep saying that there are twelve planets. Where does that number come from, and what are these three extra planets supposed to be?
Categories: Popular Facts & Fallacies, Science & Nature, Series 14, The Enigma of Space
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Your Eyebrows Will Grow Back
Richard Timewell and the Space Ranger
Everybody always asks, "If this is the future, where's my jet pack?" but only Richard Timewell was bold enough to do something about it.
Categories: Man's Amazing Inventions, Science & Nature, Series 14
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Deeply Impressed
Helen Duncan goes on trial
Helen Duncan was the last person persecuted in Britain for being a witch. Except she wasn't the last, she wasn't a witch, and she wasn't exactly persecuted either...
Categories: Footsteps into the Unknown, Hoaxes, Frauds & Forgeries, People & Places, Series 14
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Cloud Dongs
George Grey Barnard's Pennsylvania Capitol sculpture groups
In August 2023, my cousin Tim and his fiancee Bonnie were getting married in Lancaster. As #7 and I made our travel plans, we realized that even though she has spent a large chunk of her adult life in Pennsylvania she had never visited many of its most famous historic sites. We decided to make […]
Categories: Arts & Culture, Feats of Building & Engineering, Series 14
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Wild Frantics
the Sanctified Band of Chincoteague Island
They were driven from their homes, forced to live in houseboats, and persecuted... and all they really wanted was freedom to worship as they pleased.
Categories: Eccentrics & Prophecies, People & Places, Series 14
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Rapscallions!
"surprised and excited"
A grab bag of Confederate plots: Fake peace conferences! Robbing banks! Burning down cities! Kidnapping the vice president!
Categories: History, Series 14
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Rapscallions!
"Resist at Your Peril!"
The only thing standing between John Yates Beall and Johnson's Island was the USS Michigan... that and a terrible con man and the cowardice of his own men.
Categories: History, Series 14
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