Futility Closet

When Toronto attorney Charles Vance Millar died in 1926, he left behind a mischievous will that promised a fortune to the woman who gave birth to the most children in the next 10 years. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Great Stork Derby and the hope and controversy it brought to Toronto's largest families during the Great Depression. We'll also visit some Portuguese bats and puzzle over a suspicious work crew. Intro: The programming language Shakespeare produces code that reads like a stage play. In a qualification round for the 1994 Caribbean Cup, Barbados and Grenada seemed to switch sides. Sources for our feature on the Great Stork Derby: Mark M. Orkin, The Great Stork Derby, 1982. In Re Estate of Charles Millar (1937), [1938] 1 D.L.R. 65 (Supreme Court of Canada). Chris Bateman, "Historicist: The Great Stork Derby," Torontoist, Oct. 29, 2016. David Goldenberg, "How a Dead Millionaire Convinced Dozens of Women to Have as Many Babies as Possible," Five Thirty Eight, Dec. 11, 2015. Adam Bunch, "The Great Toronto Stork Derby — Why the City Went Baby Crazy During the Great Depression," Spacing Magazine, July 23, 2013. Steuart Henderson Britt, "The Significance of the Last Will and Testament," Journal of Social Psychology 8:3 (August 1937), 347-353. Peter Edwards, "1926 Will Sparked Toronto's Great 'Stork Derby,'" Toronto Star, Sept. 9, 2006. "Big Family, Big Prize," Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 17, 2002. Douglas J. Johnston, "Will Power," The Beaver 81:4 (August/September 2001), 37-39. Marty Gervais, "Stork Derby of '26 Meant to Tweak Beaks of Clergy," Windsor Star, June 23, 2000. Craig Zawada, "Dumb Moments in Legal History," Saskatchewan Business 20:6 (Nov. 1, 1999), 7. Pat MacAdam, "The Mischievous Will: Toronto the Good Left Shaken by Staid Lawyer's Quirky Last Wishes," Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 2, 1999. John Picton, "Lawyer's Will Started Baby Boom," Toronto Star, Feb. 26, 1989. Kathleen Walker, "Stork Derby Strangest of Lawyer's Bequests," Ottawa Citizen, Dec. 14, 1981. Susan Schwartz, "Prim Toronto Was Site of Baby Race," Montreal Gazette, Dec. 9, 1981. "Mrs. Annie Smith," New York Times, Jan. 21, 1948. "Toronto Bequest Provides for Second 'Stork Derby,'" New York Times, March 12, 1946. "Stork Derby Victors Lonely for Children," New York Times, July 6, 1938. "Topics of the Times," New York Times, June 1, 1938. "Last of 'Stork Derby'?", Ottawa Evening Citizen, May 31, 1938. "'Stork Derby' Winners Paid," New York Times, May 30, 1938. "Stork Derby' Prize Awarded 4 Women," New York Times, March 20, 1938. "Justice 'Troubled' in Baby Derby Plea," New York Times, Feb. 27, 1938. "Four Mothers of Nine Win Shares in $500,000 Stork Derby Cash," New York Times, Feb. 13, 1938. "Has Her 12th Baby," New York Times, Jan. 6, 1938. "Stork Derby' Will Upheld on Appeal," New York Times, Dec. 23, 1937. "Toronto Baby Race Upheld on Appeal," New York Times, Feb. 24, 1937. "Lady Astor Declares Stork Derby 'Horror,'" New York Times, Nov. 29, 1936. "Stork Derby Will Upheld by Court," New York Times, Nov. 21, 1936. "'Baby Clause' Held Valid in Millar Will," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nov. 19, 1936. "Ruling on Stork Promised in Week," New York Times, Nov. 17, 1936. "Dr. Hayne Thinks Toronto Mothers in 'Piker' Class," [Spartanburg, S.C.] Herald-Journal, Nov. 4, 1936. "Stork Derby 'Winner' Offers to Split Prize," New York Times, Nov. 2, 1936. "Birth Derby Ends; 6 Mothers in 'Tie,'" New York Times, Nov. 1, 1936. "Reaper at Finish Line in Baby Race," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Oct. 30, 1936. "'Stork Derby' Will Is Attacked by Kin," New York Times, Oct. 29, 1936. "Foul Is Claimed in Baby Derby," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Oct. 27, 1936. "Stork Derby Rule Taken by Premier," New York Times, Oct. 24, 1936. "To Fight Baby Derby Fund," New York Times, Oct. 16, 1936. "Threats in 'Baby Derby,'" New York Times, Aug. 30, 1936. "Another Baby Enters $500,000 Stork Derby," New York Times, Aug. 18, 1936. "12 in Toronto Stork Race, Parents of 89, Join Party," New York Times, Aug. 1, 1936. "Mrs. Kenny Leads in Stork Derby," Nashua [N.H.] Telegraph, Feb. 6, 1936. "'Dark Horse' in 'Stork Derby' Now Believes in Birth Control," Milwaukee Journal, Nov. 29, 1935. Phillis Griffiths, "Stork Derby Field Scorns Split Prize," New York Times, Sept. 15, 1935. "$500,000 Carried by Toronto Stork," New York Times, Sept. 8, 1935. "Toronto 'Baby' Will Safe," New York Times, Sept. 7, 1935. "12 in Toronto Stork Race, Parents of 89, Join Party," New York Times, Aug. 1, 1936. "The Commonwealth: Birth Race," Time, Dec. 20, 1926. Listener mail: "I Met a Celebrity at the London Openhouse!! Lord Palmerston, The Fuzzy," Reddit London, Sept. 24, 2018. Rachel Nuwer, "Bats Act As Pest Control at Two Old Portuguese Libraries," Smithsonian.com, Sept. 19, 2013. Julie H. Case, "These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats -- and They Like It That Way," Smithsonian.com, June 7, 2018. Patricia Kowsmann, "The Bats Help Preserve Old Books But They Drive Librarians, Well, Batty," Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2018. Universidade de Coimbra Library. Christina Caron, "Zanesville Animal Massacre Included 18 Rare Bengal Tigers," ABC News, Oct. 19, 2011. Kathy Thompson, "Ohio Exotic Animal Owner Speaks Out 1st Time Since Ordeal," [Zanesville, Ohio] Times Recorder, Oct. 18, 2012. "William Walker: Diver Who Saved Winchester Cathedral Remembered," BBC News, Oct. 6, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listeners Wil, Cassidy, and Sydney, inspired by an item on 99 Percent Invisible (warning -- this link spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

Lyudmila Pavlichenko was training for a career as a history teacher when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. She suspended her studies to enlist as a sniper in the Red Army, where she discovered a remarkable talent for shooting enemy soldiers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of "Lady Death," the deadliest female sniper in history. We'll also learn where in the world futility.closet.podcast is and puzzle over Air Force One. Intro: Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes creates a host of puzzles in the philosophy of art. German architect Herman Sörgel wanted to dam the Congo to create two African seas. Sources for our feature on Lyudmila Pavlichenko: Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Lady Death: The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper, 2018. Roger Reese, "Soviet Women at War," Military History 28:1 (May 2011), 44-53,5. Drew Lindsay, "Why Not Send Women to War?" MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 25:3 (Spring 2013), 50-55, 58-61. Karl E. Friedl, "Biases of the Incumbents: What If We Were Integrating Men Into a Women's Army?" Military Review 96:2 (March/April 2016), 69-75. Jonathan W. Jordan, "Master of the Long Rifle," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 18:4 (Summer 2006), 49-53. D'Ann Campbell, "Women in Combat: The World War II Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union," Journal of Military History 57:2 (April 1993), 301-323. E.M. Tenney, "Mrs. Roosevelt, the Russian Sniper, and Me," American Heritage 43:2 (April 1992), 28. John Kass, "This Soldier's Skill Had Nothing to Do With Gender," Chicago Tribune, Jan. 25, 2013. Peter Sheridan, "Meet Lady Death: The Deadliest Female Sniper That Ever Lived," Express, Feb. 5, 2018. Marea Donnelly, "'Lady Death' Sniper Made 309 Kills After Young Comrade Shot," Daily Telegraph, July 12, 2016, 23. Gilbert King, "Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper," Smithsonian.com, Feb. 21, 2013. Alex Lockie, "Meet the World's Deadliest Female Sniper Who Terrorized Hitler's Nazi Army," Independent, March 18, 2018. "Soviet Girl Sniper Learned to Shoot as University Co-Ed," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, August 28, 1942, 2-X. "Africa a Prelude, Maisky Declares," New York Times, Nov. 15, 1942. "Rifle Match Proposed," New York Times, Sept. 3, 1942. Public Radio International, "The Life and Myths of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Soviet Russia's Deadliest Sniper," PRI's The World, March 9, 2018. "Sharp-Shooting Women Best Soviet Snipers," USA Today Magazine, 135:2739 (December 2006), 3-4. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Maidenhead Locator System" (accessed Nov. 3, 2018). Wikipedia, "Contesting" (accessed Nov. 4, 2018). "An Evaluation of Location Encoding Systems," GitHub (accessed Nov. 9, 2018). Our territory on What3Words. Meh. Gfycat. The Silly Party takes Luton. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was devised by Greg. Here's a corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

Denis Vrain-Lucas was an undistinguished forger until he met gullible collector Michel Chasles. Through the 1860s Lucas sold Chasles thousands of phony letters by everyone from Plato to Louis the 14th, earning thousands of francs and touching off a firestorm among confused scholars. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll trace the career of the world's most prolific forger. We'll also count Queen Elizabeth's eggs and puzzle over a destroyed car. Intro: In 2011 Australian architect Horst Kiechle sculpted a human torso from paper. English historian Thomas Birch went angling dressed as a tree. Sources for our feature on Denis Vrain-Lucas: Joseph Rosenblum, Prince of Forgers, 1998. Michael Farquhar, A Treasury of Deception, 2005. John Whitehead, This Solemn Mockery, 1973. James Anson Farrer, Literary Forgeries, 1907. Rebekah Higgitt, "'Newton Dépossédé!' The British Response to the Pascal Forgeries of 1867," British Journal for the History of Science 36:131 (December 2003), 437-453. Stephen Ornes, "Descartes' Decipherer," Nature 483:7391 (March 29, 2012), 540. R.A. Rosenbaum, "Michel Chasles and the Forged Autograph Letters," Mathematics Teacher 52:5 (May 1959), 365-366. Ken Alder, "History's Greatest Forger: Science, Fiction, and Fraud along the Seine," Critical Inquiry 30:4 (2004), 702-716. Bruce Whiteman, "Practice to Deceive: The Amazing Stories of Literary Forgery's Most Notorious Practitioners, by Joseph Rosenblum," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 39:1 (2001). "Missives Impossible: Fake News Is Nothing New -- Even Isaac Newton Was a Victim, Says Stephen Ornes," New Scientist 236:3157/3158 (Dec. 23, 2017), 76-77. Steve Kemper, "Signs of the Times," Smithsonian 28:8 (November 1997), 134-140. Cullen Murphy, "Knock It Off," Atlantic Monthly 294:5 (December 2004), 187-188. Paul Gray, "Fakes That Have Skewed History," Time 121:20 (May 16, 1983), 58-61 Matthew Adams, "Archivist Talks About History of Forgery," University Wire, Oct. 24, 2014. Charles Whibley, "Of Literary Forgers," Cornhill Magazine 12:71 (May 1902), 624-636. "Literary Frauds and Forgers," Washington Times, Aug. 13, 1907. "Literary Forgers," New York Times, May 17, 1902. "Personal Gossip," Charleston Daily News, Oct. 20, 1869. Listener mail: Ben Zimmer, "Particitrousers of the Revolutionary Movement," Language Log, Sept. 7, 2015. Ben Zimmer, "Incorrections in the Newsroom: Cupertino and Beyond," Language Log, Feb. 1, 2008. Ben Zimmer, "Hugh Jackilometresan," Language Log, Jan. 4, 2017. Ben Zimmer, "It Was As If a Light Had Been Nookd ...," Language Log, June 1, 2012. Eddie Wrenn, "eBook Replaces All Mentions of the Word 'Kindle' With Rival 'Nook' -- and Ends Up Destroying War and Peace," Daily Mail, June 7, 2012. "Poor Mr Anus, the Council Candidate Given a Bum Deal by Facebook," Guardian, Sept. 28, 2018. Kevin Jackson, "Illusion / Right Before Your Very Eyes: Penn and Teller Do Magic, but the Real Trick Is That They Like to Give the Game Away," Independent, Jan. 30, 1993. Wikipedia, "Japanese Name: Imperial Names" (accessed Oct. 25, 2018). Wikipedia, "Akihito: Ichthyological Research" (accessed Oct. 25, 2018). Russell Goldman, "5 Things to Know About Japan's Emperor and Imperial Family," New York Times, Aug. 8, 2016. Akihito et al., "Speciation of Two Gobioid Species, Pterogobius elapoides and Pterogobius zonoleucus Revealed by Multi-Locus Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Analyses," Gene 576:2 (2016), 593-602. Rob Beschizza, "Joachim Rønneberg, Saboteur Who Wrecked Nazi Nuke Program, Dies at 99," Boing Boing, Oct. 22, 2018. "Joachim Roenneberg: Man Who Stopped Nazi Germany's Nuclear Ambitions Has Died, Aged 99, Norwegian Authorities Confirm," Reuters, Oct. 21, 2018. "Joachim Ronneberg: Norwegian Who Thwarted Nazi Nuclear Plan Dies," BBC News, Oct. 22, 2018. Robert D. McFadden, "Joachim Ronneberg, Leader of Raid That Thwarted a Nazi Atomic Bomb, Dies at 99," New York Times, Oct. 22, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Christopher McDonough. Here are three corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 was a disaster for the Dutch East Indies, but its astonishing consequences were felt around the world, blocking the sun and bringing cold, famine, and disease to millions of people from China to the United States. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the volcano's devastating effects and surprising legacy. We'll also appreciate an inverted aircraft and puzzle over a resourceful barber. Intro: The Veterinary Record addressed an overlooked species in 1972. Goats like towers. Map: The 1816 summer temperature anomaly (°C) with respect to 1971-2000 climatology (data source). Sources for our feature on the Tambora eruption: Gillen D'Arcy Wood, Tambora, 2014. William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, The Year Without a Summer, 2013. Angus M. Gunn, Encyclopedia of Disasters, 2008. Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders, Volcanoes in Human History, 2012. Jihong Cole-Dai et al. "Cold Decade (AD 1810–1819) Caused by Tambora (1815) and Another (1809) Stratospheric Volcanic Eruption," Geophysical Research Letters 36:22 (November 2009). Clive Oppenheimer, "Climatic, Environmental and Human Consequences of the Largest Known Historic Eruption: Tambora Volcano (Indonesia) 1815," Progress in Physical Geography 27:2 (2003), 230-259. Bernice de Jong Boers, "Mount Tambora in 1815: A Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia and Its Aftermath," Indonesia 60 (October 1995), 37-60. Chaochao Gao et al., "Climatic Aftermath of the 1815 Tambora Eruption in China," Journal of Meteorological Research 31:1 (February 2017), 28-38. Richard B. Stothers, "The Great Tambora Eruption in 1815 and its Aftermath," Science, New Series 224:4654 (June 15, 1984), 1191-1198. Shuji Cao, Yushang Li, and Bin Yang, "Mt. Tambora, Climatic Changes, and China's Decline in the Nineteenth Century," Journal of World History 23:3 (September 2012), 587-607. Gillen D'Arcy Wood, "The Volcano Lover: Climate, Colonialism, and the Slave Trade in Raffles's History of Java (1817)," Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 8:2 (Fall/Winter 2008), 33-55. Lucy Veale and Georgina H. Endfield, "Situating 1816, the 'Year Without Summer', in the UK," Geographical Journal 182:4 (December 2016), 318-330. Christos S. Zerefos, et al., "Atmospheric Effects of Volcanic Eruptions as Seen by Famous Artists and Depicted in Their Paintings," Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 7:15 (2007), 4027-4042. C.S. Zerefos, et al., "Further Evidence of Important Environmental Information Content in Red-to-Green Ratios as Depicted in Paintings by Great Masters," Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 14:6 (2014), 2987-3015. Sarah Zielinski, "How Paintings of Sunsets Immortalize Past Volcanic Eruptions," Smithsonian.com, March 25, 2014. Alan MacEachern, "The Big Chill," Canada's History 96:4 (August September 2016), 52-55. Richard Cavendish, "The Eruption of Mount Tambora," History Today 65:4 (April 2015), 8. Robert Evans, "Blast From the Past," Smithsonian 33:4 (July 2002), 52-57. Michael Greshko, "201 Years Ago, This Volcano Caused a Climate Catastrophe," National Geographic, April 8, 2016. William J. Broad, "A Volcanic Eruption That Reverberates 200 Years Later," New York Times, Aug. 24, 2015. John Noble Wilford, "Under an 1815 Volcano Eruption, Remains of a 'Lost Kingdom,'" New York Times, Feb. 28, 2006. Listener mail: "Trudeau to Apologize Nov. 7 for 1939 Decision to Turn Away Jewish Refugees Fleeing Nazis," CBC News, Sept. 6, 2018. "Trudeau to Offer Formal Apology in Commons for Fate of Jewish Refugee Ship MS St. Louis," CBC News, May 8, 2018. David Harry, "Box-Top Bonanza: Portland Land Bank May Get Park Land for $6,400," Forecaster, Aug. 14, 2018. "Owney: Tales From the Rails," Smithsonian National Postal Museum, March 6, 2018. James Barron, "An Inverted Jenny Surfaces. The Flawed Stamp Had Not Been Seen Since 1918," New York Times, Sept. 6, 2018. Daniel Fernandez, "How the Inverted Jenny, a 24-Cent Stamp, Came to Be Worth a Fortune," Smithsonian.com, May 15, 2018. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Frank Kroeger, inspired by Johann Peter Hebel's story "Der Barbierjunge von Segringen." You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1882, a mysterious man using a false name married and murdered a well-to-do widow in Essex County, New York. While awaiting the gallows he composed poems, an autobiography, and six enigmatic cryptograms that have never been solved. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll examine the strange case of Henry Debosnys, whose true identity remains a mystery. We'll also consider children's food choices and puzzle over a surprising footrace. Intro: In 1972 two Canadian scientists set out to figure the number of monsters in Loch Ness. Winston Churchill's country home must always maintain a marmalade cat named Jock. Sources for our feature on Henry Debosnys: Cheri L. Farnsworth, Adirondack Enigma, 2010. Craig P. Bauer, Unsolved!, 2017. George Levi Brown, Pleasant Valley: A History of Elizabethtown, Essex County, New York, 1905. Caroline Halstead Barton Royce, Bessboro: A History of Westport, Essex Co., N.Y., 1902. "Debosnys Ciphers," The Cipher Foundation (accessed Oct. 7, 2018). Craig P. Bauer, "When Killers Leave Ciphers," history.com, Nov. 14, 2017. Nick Pelling, "Henry Debosnys and the Cimbria ... ?" Cipher Mysteries, Nov. 16, 2015. Nick Pelling, "Thoughts on the Debosnys Ciphers ..." Cipher Mysteries, Nov. 7, 2015. Nick Pelling, "The Person Not on the S.S.Cimbria ..." Cipher Mysteries, Nov. 17, 2015. "Guilty of Wife Murder," [Washington D.C.] National Republican, March 8, 1883. "Hangman's Day," [Wilmington, Del.] Daily Republican, April 28, 1883. "A Murderer's Story," Burlington [Vt.] Weekly Free Press, Nov. 24, 1882. "A Wife's Fearful Death," New York Times, Aug. 6, 1882. "A Remarkable Man Hanged," New York Times, April 28, 1883. The Troy Times of Nov. 23, 1882, had noted, "The prisoner spends his time writing verses, or what he thinks is poetry, and he has over a ream of foolscap paper closely written. Much of this doggerel is written in Latin, French, and an unknown cipher, which Debosnys says is used in Europe quite extensively." These six cryptograms came to light in 1957 -- none has been solved: Listener mail: August Skalweit, Die Deutsche Kriegsernährungswirtschaft, 1927. Emma Beckett, "Food Fraud Affects Many Supermarket Staples, So How Do You Choose the Good Stuff?" ABC, Sept. 3, 2018. Stephen Strauss, "Clara M. Davis and the Wisdom of Letting Children Choose Their Own Diets," Canadian Medical Association Journal 175:10 (Nov. 7, 2006), 1199–1201. Benjamin Scheindlin, "'Take One More Bite for Me': Clara Davis and the Feeding of Young Children," Gastronomica 5:1 (Winter 2005), 65-69. Clara M. Davis, "Results of the Self-Selection of Diets by Young Children," Canadian Medical Association Journal 41:3 (September 1939), 257. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was inspired by an item on the podcast No Such Thing as a Fish. Here are two corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1863, on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, a 69-year-old shoemaker took down his ancient musket and set out to shoot some rebels. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow John Burns' adventures in that historic battle, which made him famous across the nation and won the praise of Abraham Lincoln. We'll also survey some wallabies and puzzle over some underlined 7s. Intro: Alberta has no rats. In a 1963 travel book, Ian Fleming gives James Bond's recipe for scrambled eggs. Sources for our feature on John Burns: Timothy H. Smith, John Burns, 2000. Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 2011. Tom Huntington, "Out to Shoot Some 'Damned Rebels,'" America's Civil War 21:3 (July 2008), 46-49. Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi, "Why JEB Stuart Was Too Late," Civil War Times 46:1 (February 2007), 30-37. Robert L. Bloom, "'We Never Expected a Battle': The Civilians at Gettysburg, 1863," Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 55:4 (October 1988), 161-200. Robert Fortenbaugh, "Lincoln as Gettysburg Saw Him," Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 14:1 (January 1947), 1-12. George T. Ness Jr., "Wisconsin at West Point: Her Graduates Through the Civil War Period," Wisconsin Magazine of History 25:2 (December 1941), 210-216. James W. Wensyel, "Tales of a Gettysburg Guide," American Heritage 45:2 (April 1994), 104. "Letters," Civil War Times 56:4 (August 2017), 6. Luther William Minnigh, Gettysburg: What They Did There, 1912. Samuel Penniman Bates, The Battle of Gettysburg, 1875. "The Field of Gettysburg," Ocala [Fla.] Evening Star, Dec. 6, 1920. "The Field of Gettysburg," Caldwell [Idaho] Tribune, Dec. 26, 1908. "John Burns of Gettysburg," [Washington D.C.] National Tribune, Jan. 19, 1899, 10. "John Burns of Gettysburg," National Tribune, Nov. 10, 1898, 8. "Brave John Burns," Gettysburg Compiler, Sept. 28, 1897. "John Burns of Gettysburg," Helena [Mont.] Independent, Oct. 6, 1890, 6. "John Burns, of Gettysburg," New York Times, Feb. 11, 1872. "John Burns of Gettysburg," New York Times, July 27, 1871. John T. Trowbridge, "The Field of Gettysburg," Atlantic Monthly 16:97 (November 1865), 616-624. A writer to the Civil War Times asks whether the man seated farthest left at this Gettysburg field hospital might be Burns. "Burns favored that style of top hat, and they have the same jug ears and long noses. They also seem to wear similar scowls, but nowadays so do I, at least when I can't get enough Advil." More here. Listener mail: Filey Bird Garden & Animal Park, Facebook, Sept. 25, 2018. "Escaped Filey Animal Park Wallaby Found Dead on Roadside," BBC News, Sept. 25, 2018. Thomas Manch and Matt Stewart, "Mystery of Wellington's Dead Wallaby Remains, Despite Thermal Imaging Tech," Stuff, May 22, 2018. Thomas Mead, "Hunters Take Out Pests in Annual South Canterbury Wallaby Hunt," NewsHub, March 17, 2018. A. David M. Latham, M. Cecilia Latham, and Bruce Warburton, "What Is Happening With Wallabies in Mainland New Zealand?" Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (accessed Oct. 3, 2018). "Waimate's Wallabies," Waimate.org (accessed Oct. 3, 2018). John Wilson, "South Canterbury Places - Waimate," Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand (accessed Oct. 3, 2018). Ryan Dunlop, "Cost of Wallabies in South Island Could Reach $67m a Year by 2027," Stuff, Dec. 22, 2017. Rachel E. Gross, "New Zealand's War on 30 Million Possums," Atlantic, March 1, 2013. Mark Edwards, "Isle of Man Wallaby-Related Police Call-Outs Revealed," BBC News, Sept. 7, 2018. Francesca Marshall, "Calls for Wallaby Warning Signs to be Implemented on the Isle of Man to Tackle Growing Numbers," Telegraph, Sept. 7, 2018. "Orphaned Isle of Man Wallaby 'Getting Stronger,'" BBC News, May 8, 2018. "Wild Wallabies Running Amok on Isle of Man," Times, Sept. 8, 2018. Camila Domonoske, "Mystery Kangaroo Is at Large in Austria, Confusing Everybody," National Public Radio, Sept. 4, 2018. "No Kangaroos in Austria? At Least One Is Lost in the Snow," Sydney Morning Herald, Jan. 29, 2015. "Runaway Kangaroo Seen in Upper Austria," The Local, Aug. 10, 2015. "Escaped Kangaroo on the Run in Austria," The Local, July 7, 2016. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener John Spray, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1897, shortly after Zona Shue was found dead in her West Virginia home, her mother went to the county prosecutor with a bizarre story. She said that her daughter had been murdered -- and that her ghost had revealed the killer's identity. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Greenbrier Ghost, one of the strangest courtroom dramas of the 19th century. We'll also consider whether cats are controlling us and puzzle over a delightful oblivion. Intro: Anagrams, a palindrome, and a letter bank regarding American presidents. A crossword without clues, by Lee Sallows. Mary Jane Heaster, Zona's mother. Sources for our feature on the Greenbrier Ghost: Katie Letcher Lyle, The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives, 1986. "The Greenbrier Ghost," West Virginia Division of Culture and History (accessed Sept. 22, 2018). David Jenkins, "Common Law, Mountain Music, and the Construction of Community Identity," Social & Legal Studies 19:3 (September 2010), 351-369. Joel Ebert, "Trials in High Profile," Charleston [W.V.] Sunday Gazette-Mail, Oct. 11, 2015, A.1. Joel Ebert, "Blankenship's Just One of Many High-Profile Trials in WV History," TCA Regional News, Oct. 11, 2015. Sandi Toksvig, "Ghosts Obviously Have Their Downsides, But at Least They Make Life Interesting," Sunday Telegraph, Jan. 23, 2011, 5. Mike Conley, "Ghost Brings Murderer to Justice," Marion [N.C.] McDowell News, Aug. 27, 2009. Allison Barker, "Courthouse Old Enough to Have Ghost in Its History," Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail, March 9, 2003, 2B. Chris Stirewalt, "A Haunting Halloween," Charleston Daily Mail, Oct. 31, 2002, 1C. Michelle Saxton, "West Virginia's Hills Are Home to Ghostly Tales," Charleston Gazette, Oct. 30, 2000, 7A. Marina Hendricks, "Retelling a Greenbrier Ghost Tale," Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail, Oct. 31. 1999, 1E. "Trial of Trout Shue," The Bar 11:2 (February 1904). "Foul Play Suspected," Greenbrier Independent, Feb. 25, 1897. "Foul Play Suspected," Staunton [Va.] Spectator and Vindicator, March 4, 1897. Garry Rodgers, "How a Ghost's Evidence Convicted a Murderer," Huffington Post, Feb. 19, 2017. Listener mail: Nic Fleming, "Hungry Cats Trick Owners With Baby Cry Mimicry," New Scientist, July 13, 2009 [contains audio files of urgent and non-urgent purrs]. Lynne Peeples, "Manipulative Meow: Cats Learn to Vocalize a Particular Sound to Train Their Human Companions," Scientific American, July 13, 2009. Karen McComb et al., "The Cry Embedded Within the Purr," Cell 19:13 (July 14, 2009), R507-R508. Mayo Clinic, "Toxoplasmosis," Oct. 3, 2017. Paul R. Torgerson and Pierpaolo Mastroiacovo, "The Global Burden of Congenital Toxoplasmosis: A Systematic Review," Bulletin of the World Health Organization 91 (2013), 501-508. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Parasites - Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma Infection)" (accessed Sept. 26, 2018). Ed Yong, "Mind-Bending Parasite Permanently Quells Cat Fear in Mice," National Geographic, April 26, 2013. M. Berdoy et al., "Fatal Attraction in Rats Infected With Toxoplasma gondii," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 267:1452 (2000), 1591-1594. Karen Sugden et al., "Is Toxoplasma Gondii Infection Related to Brain and Behavior Impairments in Humans? Evidence From a Population-Representative Birth Cohort," PLoS One 11:2 (2016), e0148435. Samuel Osborne, "Mind-Altering Parasite Spread by Cats Could Give Humans More Courage and Overcome 'Fear of Failure', Research Suggests," Independent, July 25, 2018. "The Myth of 'Mind-Altering Parasite' Toxoplasma Gondii?" Discover, Feb. 20, 2016. Jaroslav Flegr, "Effects of Toxoplasma on Human Behavior," Schizophrenia Bulletin 33:3 (2007), 757-760. B.D. Pearce et al., "The Relationship Between Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Mood Disorders in the Third National Health and Nutrition Survey," Biological Psychiatry 72:4 (2012), 290-295. Lucy Jones, "Ten Sinister Parasites That Control Their Hosts' Minds," BBC Earth, March 16, 2015. F. Thomas et al., "Biochemical and Histological Changes in the Brain of the Cricket Nemobius sylvestris Infected by the Manipulative Parasite Paragordius tricuspidatus (Nematomorpha)," International Journal for Parasitology 33:4 (2003), 435-443. Sandra B. Andersen et al., "The Life of a Dead Ant: The Expression of an Adaptive Extended Phenotype," American Naturalist 174:3 (2009), 424-433. Chris Reiber, "Change in Human Social Behavior in Response to a Common Vaccine," Annals of Epidemiology 20:10 (2010), 729-733. F. Solmi, et al., "Curiosity Killed the Cat: No Evidence of an Association Between Cat Ownership and Psychotic Symptoms at Ages 13 and 18 Years in a UK General Population Cohort," Psychological Medicine 47:9 (2017), 1659-1667. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Ben Snitkoff. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1769, a Peruvian noblewoman set out with 41 companions to join her husband in French Guiana. But a series of terrible misfortunes left her alone in the Amazon jungle. In this week's episode we'll follow Isabel Godin des Odonais on her harrowing adventure in the rain forest. We'll also learn where in the world "prices slippery traps" is and puzzle over an airport's ingenuity. Intro: In 1949 neurophysiologist Grey Walter built electronic "tortoises" with primitive nervous systems. In 1952 G.V. Carey added an index to his manual of indexing. Sources for our feature on Isabel Godin des Odonais: Anthony Smith, The Lost Lady of the Amazon, 2003. Robert Whitaker, The Mapmaker's Wife, 2004. Jean Godin, "Voyage of Madame Godin Along the River of the Amazons, in the Year 1770," in Charlotte-Adélaïde Dard et al., Perils and Captivity, 1827. Larrie D. Ferreiro, Measure of the Earth, 2011. Edward Julius Goodman, The Explorers of South America, 1992. Londa L. Schiebinger, Plants and Empire, 2009. J. Donald Fernie, "Marginalia: The Shape of the Earth, Part II," American Scientist 79:5 (September/October 1991), 393-395. Donald D. Brand, "A Brief History of Anthropology in Brazil," New Mexico Anthropologist 5:4 (October-December 1941), 99-150. David Taylor, "An Adventure of Historic Measures," Americas 50:6 (November/December 1998), 14-21. James Grant Wilson and John Fiske, Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1898. Edwin McDowell, "The Middle of the World," New York Times, Nov. 25, 1990. "First Woman Over Andes," New York Times, Nov. 5, 1922. Henri Froidevaux, "Documents Inédits sur Godin des Odonais et sur Son Séjour a la Guyane," Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris I, 1896. "An Account of the Singular Misfortunes of Madame Godin, in a Voyage Which She Made From the Province of Quito to Cayenne, by the River of the Amazons," New Wonderful Magazine and Marvellous Chronicle 4:37 (July 1794), 309-313. Listener mail: Robert Plummer, "Giving Everyone in the World an Address," BBC News, April 30, 2015. "Ivory Coast Post Office Adopts Three-Word System," BBC News, Dec. 9, 2016. Plus Codes. Wikipedia, "Open Location Code" (accessed Sept. 13, 2018). what3words. Wikipedia, "What3words" (accessed Sept. 13, 2018). Belinda Lanks, "This App Gives Even the Most Remote Spots on the Planet an Address," Magenta, Oct. 11, 2016. Joon Ian Wong, "Mongolia Is Changing All Its Addresses to Three-Word Phrases," Quartz, June 13, 2016. Jacopo Prisco, "Ivory Coast Street Addresses Are Now Made of Three Words," CNN, Sept. 4, 2017. what2numbers. what3emojis. what3goshdarnits. what3ducks. what3[redacted] (warning: many, many expletives). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Josva Dammann Kvilstad, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

The end of the Civil War opened a new era of fossil hunting in the American West -- and a bitter feud between two rival paleontologists, who spent 20 years sabotaging one another in a constant struggle for supremacy. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Bone Wars, the greatest scientific feud of the 19th century. We'll also sympathize with Scunthorpe and puzzle over why a driver can't drive. Intro: Nepal's constitution contains instructions for drawing its flag. The tombstone of Constanze Mozart's second husband calls him "the husband of Mozart's widow." Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. Sources for our feature on the Bone Wars: David Rains Wallace, The Bonehunters' Revenge, 1999. Mark Jaffe, The Gilded Dinosaur, 2000. Elizabeth Noble Shor, The Fossil Feud, 1974. Hal Hellman, Great Feuds in Science, 1998. Tom Huntington, "The Great Feud," American History 33:3 (August 1998), 14. Richard A. Kissel, "The Sauropod Chronicles," Natural History 116:3 (April 2007), 34-38. Keith Stewart Thomson, "Marginalia: Dinosaurs as a Cultural Phenomenon," American Scientist 93:3 (May-June 2005), 212-214. Genevieve Rajewski, "Where Dinosaurs Roamed," Smithsonian 39:2 (May 2008), 20-24. James Penick Jr., "Professor Cope vs. Professor Marsh," American Heritage 22:5 (August 1971). Alfred S. Romer, "Cope versus Marsh," Systematic Zoology 13:4 (December 1964), 201-207. Renee Clary, James Wandersee, and Amy Carpinelli, "The Great Dinosaur Feud: Science Against All Odds," Science Scope 32:2 (October 2008), 34-40. Susan West, "Dinosaur Head Hunt," Science News 116:18 (Nov. 3, 1979), 314-315. P.D. Brinkman, "Edward Drinker Cope's Final Feud," Archives of Natural History 43:2 (October 2016), 305-320. Eric J. Hilton, Joseph C. Mitchell and David G. Smith, "Edward Drinker Cope (1840–1897): Naturalist, Namesake, Icon," Copeia 2014:4 (December 2014), 747-761. John Koster, "Good to the Old Bones: Dreaming of Dinosaurs, Digging for Dollars," Wild West 25:2 (August 2012), 26-27. Daniel Engber, "Bone Thugs-N-Disharmony," Slate, Aug. 7, 2013. Walter H. Wheeler, "The Uintatheres and the Cope-Marsh War," Science, New Series 131:3408 (April 22, 1960), 1171-1176. Lukas Rieppel, "Prospecting for Dinosaurs on the Mining Frontier: The Value of Information in America's Gilded Age," Social Studies of Science 45:2 (2015), 161-186. Michael J. Benton, "Naming Dinosaur Species: The Performance of Prolific Authors," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30:5 (2010), 1478-1485. Cary Woodruff and John R. Foster, "The Fragile Legacy of Amphicoelias fragillimus (Dinosauria: Sauropoda; Morrison Formation-Latest Jurassic)," PeerJ PrePrints 3 (2014), e838v1. Paul Semonin, "Empire and Extinction: The Dinosaur as a Metaphor for Dominance in Prehistoric Nature," Leonardo 30:3 (1997), 171-182. Jennie Erin Smith, "When Fossil-Finding Was a Contact Sport," Wall Street Journal Asia, June 10, 2016, A.11. Adam Lusher, "The Brontosaurus Is Back After 150 Million Years... At Least in Name," Independent, April 8, 2015, 10. Will Bagley, "Rivals Fought Tooth and Nail Over Dinosaurs," Salt Lake Tribune, March 25, 2001, B1. Clive Coy, "Skeletons in the Closet," Ontario National Post, Jan. 22, 2000, 10. Rose DeWolf, "Philly Is Facile With Fossils," Philadelphia Daily News, March 27, 1998, D.6. Mark Jaffe, "Phila. and Fossils Go Way Back," Philadelphia Inquirer, March 22, 1998, 2. Malcolm W. Browne, "Dinosaurs Still Star in Many Human Dramas and Dreams," New York Times, Oct. 14, 1997. John Noble Wilford, "Horses, Mollusks and the Evolution of Bigness," New York Times, Jan. 21, 1997. Jerry E. Bishop, "Bones of Contention: Should Dr. Cope's Be The Human Model?" Wall Street Journal, Nov. 1, 1994, A1. "Dinosaur Book Has Museum Aide Losing His Head," Baltimore Sun, Oct. 17, 1994, 6A. "The Bricks of Scholarship," New York Times, Jan. 21, 1988. Dick Pothier, "Fossil Factions: Dinosaur Exhibit Points Out a Battle in Science," Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 9, 1986, B.14. Rose DeWolf, "Dinosaurs: Bone in the USA," Philadelphia Daily News, Jan. 24, 1986, 52. William Harper Davis, "Cope, a Master Pioneer of American Paleontology," New York Times, July 5, 1931. George Gaylord Simpson, "Mammals Were Humble When Dinosaurs Roved," New York Times, Oct. 18, 1925. "A Prehistoric Monster," Hartford Republican, Sept. 1, 1905. "The Scientists' New President," Topeka State Journal, Oct. 9, 1895. Listener mail: David Mack, "This Woman With a 'Rude' Last Name Started the Best Thread on Twitter," BuzzFeed News, Aug. 29, 2018. Natalie Weiner, Twitter, Sept. 6, 2018. Wikipedia, "Scunthorpe Problem" (accessed Sept. 6, 2018). Declan McCullagh, "Google's Chastity Belt Too Tight," CNET, April 23, 2004. Daniel Oberhaus, "Life on the Internet Is Hard When Your Last Name is 'Butts,'" Motherboard, Aug. 29, 2018. Matthew Moore, "The Clbuttic Mistake: When Obscenity Filters Go Wrong," Telegraph, Sept. 2, 2008. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David Malki. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1761 a French schooner was shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean, leaving more than 200 people stranded on a tiny island. The crew departed in a makeshift boat, leaving 60 Malagasy slaves to fend for themselves and wait for rescue. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Tromelin Island castaways, which one observer calls "arguably the most extraordinary story of survival ever documented." We'll also admire some hardworking cats and puzzle over a racer's death. Intro: In 1830 architect Thomas Willson proposed building an enormous pyramid to house London's dead. In 1959 a Norwegian insulation manufacturer undertook to transport a three-ton block of ice to the equator without refrigeration. Sources for our feature on the Tromelin Island castaways: Samir S. Patel, "Castaways," Archaeology, Sept. 15, 2014. "Lèse humanité," Economist, Dec. 16, 2015. Max Guérout, "Esclaves oubliés," La Revue Maritime 477 (December 2006). John Lichfield, "Shipwrecked and Abandoned: The Story of the Slave Crusoes," Independent, Feb. 5, 2007. James Russell, "The Recovery of Tromelin Island," National Geographic, April 11, 2016. V. Laroulandie and C. Lefèvre, "The Use of Avian Resources by the Forgotten Slaves of Tromelin Island (Indian Ocean)," International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 24:3 (2014), 407-416. Matthieu Le Corre, et al. "Seabird Recovery and Vegetation Dynamics After Norway Rat Eradication at Tromelin Island, Western Indian Ocean," Biological Conservation 185 (2015), 85-94. Nick Marriner et al., "A Geomorphological Reconnaissance of Tromelin Island, Indian Ocean," Journal of Coastal Research 28:6 (November 2012), 1606-1616. Urko Apaolaza Ávila, "Basques in the Caribbean Slave Trade (Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries)," in William A. Douglass, ed., Basques in Cuba, 2016. Jane Webster, "Slave Ships and Maritime Archaeology: An Overview," International Journal of Historical Archaeology 12:1 (March 2008), 6–19. Annabelle Georgen, "Abandonnés sur une île déserte: la tragédie des esclaves oubliés de Tromelin," Slate, Feb. 22, 2017. Peter Mitchell and Paul Lane, The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, 2013. Carl Thompson, Shipwreck in Art and Literature: Images and Interpretations from Antiquity to the Present Day, 2014. Nelly Schmidt, "Slavery and Its Abolition, French Colonies, Research and Transmission of Knowledge," UNESCO Slave Route Project. Constance Holden, "Random Samples," Science, New Series 315:5812 (Feb. 2, 2007), 579. Jasmina Sopova, "UNESCO Launches Forgotten Slaves Programme," UNESCO, April 23, 2004. "Archaeological Science," Health & Medicine Week, May 17, 2010, 1593. Sylviane Diouf, "Survivors: Sand Island," New York Public Library, March 7, 2012. H.A. Moriarty, Islands in the Southern Indian Ocean, Westward of Longitude 80° East, Including Madagascar, 1904. Alexander G. Findlay, A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Ocean, 1866. A. Constable, Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea, 1812. Lawrence G. Green, "Mystery Isles of the East," New York Times, June 21, 1931. Bernie McClenny, "Tromelin Island," QST 98:9 (September 2014), 91-92. "Foreign Intelligence," [London] General Evening Post, Aug. 21, 1777. "Extract of a Letter From Amsterdam, Aug. 7," London Chronicle, Aug. 22, 1777. Listener mail: "Chief Mouser Palmerston Develops a Taste for Duck," Times, July 24, 2018. "Library Cat Outlasts Councilman That Wanted Him Gone," CBS News, Dec. 16, 2016. Bud Kennedy, "Council Critic Takes Yet Another Swipe at Browser the Library Cat," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dec. 10, 2016. Ricki Harris, "Beloved Cat Will Keep His Job at the Local Library After International Backlash," ABC News, July 5, 2016. Ricki Harris, "Beloved Cat Fired From His Job at a Local Public Library," ABC News, June 28, 2016. Wikipedia, "Mike (cat)" (accessed Sept. 4, 2018). E.A. Wallis Budge, "Mike", the Cat Who Assisted in Keeping the Main Gate of the British Museum From February 1909 to January 1929, 1929. R.B. Shaberman, Mike, the British Museum Cat, 1909-1929: A Jubilee Reminiscence, 1979. Dog Days of Summer Family Festival, Smithsonian National Postal Museum (accessed Sept. 6, 2018). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Bryant Pocock, who sent these corroborating links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!