Photo of barrage balloon from America from the Great Depression to World War II, at the Library of Congress.
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| Anabaptist Radicals Declare Muenster the "New Jerusalem" (February 27, 1534) Today in Odd History, a group of revolutionary Anabaptists who had seized the German city of Muenster declared it "The New Jerusalem." They then proceeded to institute a theocratic rule that became ever-more oppressive and abusive, until an army led by the exiled Bishop of Muenster succeeded in retaking the city. The rebellion was over less than 18 months after it began; it accomplished nothing except to confirm the most dire suspicions of those who considered even peaceful Anabaptists to be dangerous heretics. (Read more...) Beatles Wallpaper Arrives in America (February 21, 1964) Today in Odd History, Britain shipped 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper to the US, just 2 days before the Fab Four's third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. (Read more...) Charlie Chaplin's Coffin Stolen from Swiss Cemetery (March 1, 1977) Today in Odd History, Charlie Chaplin's grave was ransacked. His heavy oak coffin was carted off, with his body inside, and the grave robbers demanded $600,000 in ransom. Chaplin's widow, Lady Oona O'Neill Chaplin, refused to pay it, saying "My husband lives on in my heart and mind, and it really doesn't matter where his remains are." (Read more...) Colonists Scalp Native Americans (February 20, 1725) Today in Odd History, a group of American colonists attacked a Native American encampment in New Hampshire, taking 10 scalps, for which the British government paid a bounty of £100 each. (Read more...) Congress Appropriates $30,000 Toward Creation of Camel Corps (March 3, 1855) Today in Odd History, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the creation of the US Camel Corps. The camels were to be used in the American Southwest, where the arid conditions and harsh terrain made the use of horses impractical. Although the Camel Corps did have some success, it was abandoned when the Civil War broke out in 1861. (Read more...) Dead Jockey Rides to Victory (May 8, 1936) Today in Odd History, Ralph Neves' life was cut tragically short at Bay Meadows Racecourse, near San Francisco, California. The 19-year-old jockey was coming into the final stretch of the third race of the day when his horse, Fannikins, tripped. She and her rider crashed through the wooden fence. Fannikins was unharmed, but Neves, who had not only broken his own mount's fall, but had also been trampled by four other horses, was dead. The track physician, assisted by two doctors who had come down from the stands when they saw Neves fall, loaded the body into an ambulance, and the race announcer called for a moment of silence. But the shocked, grieving spectators had underestimated Neves. (Read more...) Female Pilot Pitches Suicide Squad to Hitler (February 28, 1944) Today in Odd History, Hannah Reitsch, Nazi Germany's celebrated female test pilot, suggested that Adolph Hitler should create a suicide squadron of glider pilots. Hitler was skeptical of the idea, believing that such a squadron would not be an effective use of Germany's limited resources. The delicate blonde's enthusiasm finally won him over; he agreed to investigate the possibility of adapting the V-1, which was designed to be a pilotless robotic bomb, to a kamikaze vehicle. Reitsch promptly formed a Suicide Group, and was herself the first person to take the pledge: "I hereby...voluntarily apply to be enrolled in the suicide group as a pilot of a human glider-bomb. I fully understand that employment in this capacity will entail my own death." As it turned out, neither she nor anyone else was ever called upon to make that sacrifice, as the squadron was never deployed. (Read more...) French Bluebeard Guillotined (February 25, 1922) Today in Odd History, Henri Desire Landru, "The French Bluebeard," was guillotined for the murders of 10 women, and the son of one of his victims. (Read more...) Galileo Ordered to Give Up Copernican Heresy (February 26, 1616) Today in Odd History, the Inquisition delivered an injunction to Galileo Galilei, an Italian nobleman famous for his studies of mathematics and physics, ordering him to stop defending the Copernican theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. (Read more...) Garbage Barge Begins Lengthy Trek (March 22, 1987) Today in Odd History, an unassuming barge called the Mobro 4000 began a 6,000 mile voyage, looking for a port that would take its cargo--nearly 3,200 tons of trash. With its escort, the tugboat Break of Day, the Mobro would sail along the coast of the Eastern and Southern United States, down into the Gulf of Mexico and through the Bahamas, before finally returning to New York, still bearing its load of garbage. (Read more...) George Gets Arrested, Paul Gets Hitched (March 12, 1969) Today in Odd History, Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman, an American photographer, at the Marylebone Registry Office in London. That in itself would not have been so strange, but on the same day, George Harrison and his wife, Pattie Boyd, were arrested for possession of marijuana. (Read more...) Hitler Diaries Debacle Begins (February 18, 1981) Today in Odd History, one of the greatest publishing scandals of the 20th Century began, when Gerd Heidemann presented the directors of Gruner + Jahr with the handwritten diaries of Adolph Hitler. Although handwriting analysis suggested that the diaries were authentic, scientific investigation of the paper and ink revealed that they were, in fact, no more than a few years old. (Read more...) Jimmy Carter Attacked by Killer Rabbit (April 20, 1979) Today in Odd History, Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit during a fishing trip in Plains, Georgia. The rabbit, which may have been fleeing a predator, swam toward his boat, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared." President Carter was forced to swat at the vicious beast with a canoe paddle, which apparently scared it off. (Read more...) John Harvey Kellogg Serves Corn Flakes at the San (March 7, 1897) Today in Odd History, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg dished up the first serving of corn flakes at the Battle Creek Sanitarium (known affectionately as the San). These were not the corn flakes that have since adorned breakfast tables around the world. Those would not make their appearance until 1906, when Dr. Kellogg's brother, Will Keith Kellogg, added sugar to the recipe and began marketing it as a breakfast food. (Dr. Kellogg so thoroughly disapproved of this development that he sued Will in a fruitless attempt to keep the Kellogg name off of mass-produced breakfast cereals.) These were an unsweetened addition to the diets of Dr. Kellogg's patients, who suffered from a variety of ailments, which Dr. Kellogg believed could be cured by a strict vegetarian diet, vigorous exercise, sexual abstinence, and regular enemas. (Read more...) John Horwood Hanged (April 13, 1821) Today in Odd History, John Horwood was hanged at the "New" Bristol Gaol. It was Friday the 13th, just three days after Horwood's 18th birthday, and his execution was the prison's first. He hanged for the murder of Eliza Balsum, an older girl who had spurned Horwood's advances; she died of a fractured skull when Horwood threw a rock at her while she crossed a stream near Hanham Mill. In jail, Horwood said, "Lord, thou knowest that I did not mean then to take away her life but merely to punish her: though I confess that I made up my mind, some time or other, to murder her." His body was given to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where surgeon Richard Smith dissected him. An account of the dissection is bound, along with the transcript of the trial, in a book covered with Horwood's skin. (Read more...) John Lennon Proclaims Beatles "More Popular than Jesus" (March 4, 1966) Today in Odd History, The Evening Standard published a long, rambling interview with John Lennon in which he proclaimed that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Although there was little reaction to his statement in England, Christians elsewhere embarked upon a massive campaign to destroy Beatles albums and other paraphenalia. Lennon apologized for the remark later, and the Archbishop of Boston admitted that he was probably right, but many people still refused to forgive him. (Read more...) Laszlo Toth, "Jesus Christ," Attacks the Pieta (May 21, 1972) Today in Odd History, Laszlo Toth, a 33-year-old Australian geologist, slipped into St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, part of the crowd attending the Whitsunday Mass. As the faithful waited for the Pope's blessing, Toth dashed past the guards, vaulted a marble balustrade, and attacked Michelangelo's Vatican Pieta with a sledgehammer, shouting "I am Jesus Christ!" With fifteen blows (one for each minute of his fame?), he removed the Virgin's arm at the elbow, knocked off a chunk of her nose, and chipped one of her eyelids. (Read more...) "The Man Who Never Was" Launches Operation Mincemeat (April 30, 1943) Today in Odd History, a Spanish fisherman discovered the body of Major William Martin, a British Royal Marines courier. There was a briefcase attached to the dead man's wrist, which contained personal correspondence and documents related to the impending Allied invasion of Sardinia, in Greece. Spanish authorities notified the Germans, who moved quickly to fortify the Greek coast, leaving Sicily almost completely undefended. This was exactly what the Allies had in mind. (Read more...) Rescuers Reach the Donner Party (February 19, 1848) Today in Odd History, the first rescue party reached the Donner Party, the most famous group of American emigrants ever to attempt the cross country wagon journey to California. (Read more...) Sacheen Littlefeather Refuses Brando's Oscar (March 27, 1973) Soviet Dogs Begin Successful Earth Orbit (February 22, 1966) Today in Odd History, the Soviets launched Kosmos 110, which carried the two-dog crew of Ugolyok (Little Piece of Coal) and Veterok (Breeze) into Earth orbit. It landed on March 16, 1966, after a 22-day flight. This flight still stands as a canine record; it was not surpassed by humans until 1974, when Skylab 2 carried three men into space for a total of 28 days. (Read more...) Tambo Tambo, Circus Performer, Dies (February 23, 1884) Today in Odd History, Jimmy Tambo, an Australian Aborigine who performed in Barnum & Bailey's Circus under the name Tambo Tambo, died of pneumonia at the age of 23. 109 years later, his mummified body was found in the basement of a funeral parlor in Cleveland, Ohio. (Read more...) Thomas Carlyle's "Revolution" Goes Up in Flames (March 6, 1835) Today in Odd History, John Stuart Mill arrived at Thomas Carlyle's house with all that was left of the only copy of Volume I of Carlyle's French Revolution--a single burned scrap of paper that Carlyle would keep in his study for the rest of his life. (Read more...) UFOs Over Nuremberg (April 4, 1561) Today in Odd History, an eerie battle raged in the skies above Nuremberg, Germany. It began at dawn, as dozens, if not hundreds, of crosses, globes and tubes fought each other above the city. It ended an hour later, when "the globes in the small and large rods flew into the sun," and several of the other objects crashed to earth and vanished in a thick cloud of smoke. (Read more...) US Army Defends West Coast from Weather Balloon (February 24, 1942) Today in Odd History, the United States Army mistook a weather balloon off the coast of Southern California for a Japanese bomber and attacked. Thus began "The Battle of Los Angeles." (Read more...) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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