Futility Closet

Edmond Rostand's hit play Cyrano de Bergerac met an unexpected obstacle in 1898 -- a Chicago real estate developer who claimed that it plagiarized his own play. In this week's podcast we'll review the strange controversy and the surprising outcome of the lawsuit that followed. We'll also hear an update on the German author who popularized an American West that he had never seen and puzzle over a Civil War private who refuses to fight. Sources for our feature on Cyrano de Bergerac and The Merchant Prince of Cornville: "Gross-Rostand Controversy," in George Childs Kohn, New Encyclopedia of American Scandal, 2001. Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac, 1897. Samuel Eberly Gross, The Merchant Prince of Cornville, 1896. Jay Pridmore, "Recalling 'Merchant Prince' of the 1880s," Chicago Tribune, Feb. 28, 1992. "Chronicle and Comment," The Bookman, November 1910. The Critic, February 1899, p. 116. "Samuel Gross's Cyrano," New York Times, June 1, 1902. "Rostand Indignant," The Pittsburgh Press, June 1, 1902. "Rostand's Champion," The Carroll Herald, June 4, 1902. "'Cyrano de Bergerac' a Plagiarism," Boston Evening Transcript, May 21, 1902. "The Law and the Nose," Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 10, 1902. "Dollar Is Spent," The Milwaukee Journal, Sept. 17, 1902. Listener mail: Wikipedia, Hadschi Halef Omar (retrieved July 8, 2015). Dschinghis Khan's disco song "Hadschi Halef Omar" is here. Translated lyrics are here. Listener Krisztián Vida sent links to some pages and a video on "American Indians" in Central Europe. Wikipedia, Emilio Salgari (retrieved July 8, 2015). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Jackie Speir. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

In 1876 London was riveted by the dramatic poisoning of a young barrister and the sordid revelations that emerged about his household. In today's show we'll review the baffling case of Charles Bravo's murder, which Agatha Christie called "one of the most mysterious poisoning cases ever recorded." We'll also get an update on career possibilities for garden hermits and puzzle over how the police know that a shooting death is not a homicide. Many thanks to Ronald Hackston for his evocative photo of The Priory, Balham, the site of Charles Bravo's unsolved 1876 poisoning. Sources for that feature: James Ruddick, Death at the Priory: Sex, Love, and Murder in Victorian England, 2001. Chirag Trivedi, "Victorian Whodunnit Solved," BBC, Jan. 13, 2003 (accessed June 28, 2015). "The Bravo Inquiry" and "The Theory of Suicide in the Bravo Case," Medical Times and Gazette, Aug. 19, 1876. Joyce Emmerson Muddock, Pages From an Adventurous Life, 1907. Listener mail: Amanda Williams, "Wanted: 'Outgoing' Hermit," Daily Mail, May 5, 2014 (retrieved July 3, 2015). Greater Manchester News, "Hermit Wanted for Historic Gardens," July 3, 2009 (retrieved July 3, 2015). "Hermit Wanted for 'Ivory Tower'," BBC, July 1, 2009 (retrieved July 3, 2015). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Sam B., who sent this corroborating link (warning: this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Enter coupon code CLOSET to get $5 off your first purchase at Harry's. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

In 1915 San Diego hired "rainmaker" Charles Hatfield to relieve a four-year drought. After he set to work with his 23 secret chemicals, the skies opened and torrential rains caused some of the most extreme flooding in the city's history. In this week's podcast we'll discuss the effects of "Hatfield's flood" and ponder how to assign the credit or blame. We'll also puzzle over why a flagrant housebreaker doesn't get prosecuted. Sources for our feature on "moisture accelerator" Charles Hatfield: Garry Jenkins, The Wizard of Sun City, 2005. Cynthia Barnett, Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, 2015. "Hatfield Made the Sky Fall (and Fall)," Kingman [Ariz.] Daily Miner, Nov. 14, 1978. "Hatfield Again Gambling Upon Making of Rain," Berkeley [Calif.] Daily Gazette, Jan. 29, 1926. "Rainmaker Wins Bet With Farmers," Ellensburg [Wash.] Daily Record, July 28, 1921. "With the Rainmaker," Dawson [Yukon] Daily News, July 4, 1905. "Rainstorms at $50 Each," St. John [New Brunswick] Daily Sun, March 8, 1904. This week's first lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Hanno Zulla, who sent these corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle). The second puzzle is from Edward J. Harshman's 1996 book Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

The discovery of the gruesome remains of a human body buried in a doctor's cellar shocked London in 1910. In this week's podcast we'll recount the dramatic use of the recently invented wireless telegraph in capturing the main suspect in the crime. We'll also hear a letter that Winston Churchill wrote to Winston Churchill and puzzle over why a sober man is denied a second beer. Sources for our feature on the telegraphic nabbing of Edwardian uxoricide Hawley Harvey Crippen: Erik Larson, Thunderstruck, 2006. Associated Press, "Wireless Flashes Crippen and Girl Aboard Montrose," Los Angeles Herald, July 29, 1910. "Captain Sure Suspects are Pair Police Seek," Los Angeles Herald, July 29, 1910. Proceedings of Crippen's 1910 trial at Old Bailey Online. "Crippen Mystery Remains Despite DNA Claim," BBC News, Oct. 18, 2007 (accessed June 16, 2015). Mark Townsend, "Appeal Judges Asked to Clear Notorious Murderer Dr. Crippen," Guardian, June 6, 2009 (accessed June 16, 2015). Here's Winston Churchill's June 1899 letter to American author Winston Churchill: Mr. Winston Churchill presents his compliments to Mr. Winston Churchill, and begs to draw his attention to a matter which concerns them both. He has learnt from the Press notices that Mr. Winston Churchill proposes to bring out another novel, entitled Richard Carvel, which is certain to have a considerable sale both in England and America. Mr. Winston Churchill is also the author of a novel now being published in serial form in Macmillan’s Magazine, and for which he anticipates some sale both in England and America. He also proposes to publish on the 1st of October another military chronicle on the Soudan War. He has no doubt that Mr. Winston Churchill will recognise from this letter — if indeed by no other means — that there is grave danger of his works being mistaken for those of Mr. Winston Churchill. He feels sure that Mr. Winston Churchill desires this as little as he does himself. In future to avoid mistakes as far as possible, Mr. Winston Churchill has decided to sign all published articles, stories, or other works, ‘Winston Spencer Churchill,’ and not ‘Winston Churchill’ as formerly. He trusts that this arrangement will commend itself to Mr. Winston Churchill, and he ventures to suggest, with a view to preventing further confusion which may arise out of this extraordinary coincidence, that both Mr. Winston Churchill and Mr. Winston Churchill should insert a short note in their respective publications explaining to the public which are the works of Mr. Winston Churchill and which those of Mr. Winston Churchill. The text of this note might form a subject for future discussion if Mr. Winston Churchill agrees with Mr. Winston Churchill’s proposition. He takes this occasion of complimenting Mr. Winston Churchill upon the style and success of his works, which are always brought to his notice whether in magazine or book form, and he trusts that Mr. Winston Churchill has derived equal pleasure from any work of his that may have attracted his attention. From Richard M. Langworth, The Definitive Wit of Winston Churchill, 2009. This week's lateral thinking puzzle appeared originally on NPR's Car Talk, contributed there by listener George Parks. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Please take our five-minute survey to help us find advertisers to support the show. 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

In 18th-century England, wealthy landowners would sometimes hire people to live as hermits in secluded corners of their estates. In today's show we'll explore this odd custom and review the job requirements for life as a poetic recluse. We'll also meet a German novelist who popularized an American West he had never seen and puzzle over some very generous bank robbers. Sources for our feature on ornamental hermits: Gordon Campbell, The Hermit in the Garden, 2013. Alice Gregory, "Garden Hermit Needed. Apply Within," Boston Globe, May 19, 2013. Robert Conger Pell, Milledulcia: A Thousand Pleasant Things, 1857. Edith Sitwell, The English Eccentrics, 1933. John Timbs, English Eccentrics and Eccentricities, 1875. Allison Meier, "Before the Garden Gnome, The Ornamental Hermit: A Real Person Paid to Dress Like a Druid," Atlas Obscura, March 18, 2014 (accessed June 9, 2015). Graeme Wood's article "The Lost Man," describing the latest efforts to identify the Somerton Man, appeared in the California Sunday Magazine on June 7, 2015. The case concerns an unidentified corpse discovered on a South Australian beach in December 1948; for the full story see our Episode 25. University of Adelaide physicist Derek Abbott's Indiegogo campaign to identify the man runs through June 28. There's also a petition to urge the attorney general of South Australia to exhume the body so that autosomal DNA can be extracted. Sources for Sharon's discussion of German author Karl May's fictional Apache chief Winnetou: Michael Kimmelman, "Fetishizing Native Americans: In Germany, Wild for Winnetou," Spiegel Online, Sept. 13, 2007 (accessed June 11, 2015). Rivka Galchen, "Wild West Germany: Why Do Cowboys and Indians So Captivate the Country?", New Yorker, April 9, 2012 (accessed June 11, 2015). Winnetou is so popular in Germany that the death this month of French actor Pierre Brice, who played him in the movies, was front-page news. (Thanks, Hanno.) This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Edward J. Harshman's 1996 book Fantastic Lateral Thinking Puzzles. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Please take a five-minute survey to help us find advertisers to support the show. 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

In 1916 an American circus elephant named Mary was hanged before a crowd of 3,000 onlookers. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review the sad series of events that led Mary to a Tennessee railroad crane. We'll also get an update on a very inventive bank robbery and puzzle over the escalators in London's Tube stations. Our feature on Mary was based chiefly on Charles Edwin Price's 1992 book The Day They Hung the Elephant. Our first lateral thinking puzzle this week was contributed by listener Paul Sophocleous. The second is from Kyle Hendrickson's 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles. Here are two links with more information about the bank robbery described in Episode 58's puzzle. (Warning -- spoilers!) Enter coupon code CLOSET at Harry's to get $5 off a special Father's Day razor set. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

In 1764 a French engineer on a tiny African island claimed that he could see ships beyond the horizon. In today's show we'll review the strange story of Étienne Bottineau and consider the evidence for his claims to have invented a new art. We'll also ponder a 400-year-old levitation trick and puzzle over why throwing a beer can at someone might merit a promotion. Sources for our feature on nauscopie, the purported art of apprehending ships below the horizon: Rupert T. Gould, Oddities: A Book of Unexplained Facts, 1928. Sir David Brewster, Letters on Natural Magic, 1832. J. Gregory Dill, "The Lost Art of Nauscopie," Ocean Navigator, January/February 2003 (retrieved May 17, 2015). Mike Dash, "Naval Gazing: The Enigma of Étienne Bottineau," Smithsonian Magazine, Oct. 13, 2011 (retrieved May 17, 2015). Chicago Tribune, "The Science of Nauscopie," Nov. 7, 1869. Greg's post on Samuel Pepy's "lifting experiment" appeared on Futility Closet on March 22, 2008. Further sources for that segment: Sir David Brewster, Letters on Natural Magic, 1832. The Diary of Samuel Pepys, July 31, 1665. Robert Conger Pell, Milledulcia: A Thousand Pleasant Things Selected from "Notes and Queries," 1857. Notes & Queries, July 3, 1852 (the original query). Notes & Queries, July 24, 1852 (Brewster offers his impressions). "Non-Wist," "Phenomenon of Levity in the Human Subject," The Zoist, January 1852. Two YouTube videos illustrate the modern technique: one, two The YouTube discussion mentioned in this week's lateral thinking puzzle is here (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

In 1855 Pedro Carolino decided to write a Portuguese-English phrasebook despite the fact that he didn't actually speak English. The result is one of the all-time masterpieces of unintentional comedy, a language guide full of phrases like "The ears are too length" and "He has spit in my coat." In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll sample Carolino's phrasebook, which Mark Twain called "supreme and unapproachable." We'll also hear Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” rendered in jargon and puzzle over why a man places an ad before robbing a bank. Sources for our feature on Pedro Carolino's disastrous phrasebook: English as She Is Spoke: Or, A Jest in Sober Earnest, 1883. (This edition, like many, incorrectly names José da Fonseca as a coauthor. Fonseca was the author of the Portuguese-French phrasebook that Carolino used for the first half of his task. By all accounts that book is perfectly competent, and Fonseca knew nothing of Carolino's project; Carolino added Fonseca's name to the byline to lend some credibility to his own book.) The Writings of Mark Twain, Volume 6. Carolino's misadventure inspired some "sequels" by other authors: English as She Is Wrote (1883) English as She Is Taught (1887) As long as we're at it, here's Monty Python's "Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook" sketch: Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy rendered in jargon, from Arthur Quiller-Couch's On the Art of Writing (1916): To be, or the contrary? Whether the former or the latter be preferable would seem to admit of some difference of opinion; the answer in the present case being of an affirmative or of a negative character according as to whether one elects on the one hand to mentally suffer the disfavour of fortune, albeit in an extreme degree, or on the other to boldly envisage adverse conditions in the prospect of eventually bringing them to a conclusion. The condition of sleep is similar to, if not indistinguishable from, that of death; and with the addition of finality the former might be considered identical with the latter: so that in this connection it might be argued with regard to sleep that, could the addition be effected, a termination would be put to the endurance of a multiplicity of inconveniences, not to mention a number of downright evils incidental to our fallen humanity, and thus a consummation achieved of a most gratifying nature. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Lawrence Miller, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Eight decades after Jules Verne's death, his great-grandson opened a family safe and discovered an unpublished manuscript. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll review some of Verne's remarkable predictions for the 20th century and consider why he never published the novel. We'll also discuss listeners' ideas about the mysterious deaths of nine Soviet ski hikers in 1959 and puzzle over how a man's breakfast turns deadly. Sources for our feature on Jules Verne's Paris in the Twentieth Century: Arthur B. Evans, "The 'New' Jules Verne," Science-Fiction Studies, March 1995. Brian Taves, "Jules Verne’s Paris in the Twentieth Century," Science-Fiction Studies, March 1997. Jules Verne, Paris in the Twentieth Century, 1863. Sources for listener mail: "'Partially Digested' Human Head, Leg Found Inside Shark Caught by Filipino Fishermen," Fox News Latino, Nov. 12, 2014 (accessed May 8, 2015). Donnie Eichar, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, 2013. Jason Zasky, "Return to Dead Mountain," Failure Magazine, Feb. 1, 2014. Greg's article on animal infrasound appeared in the January-February 2004 issue of American Scientist. This week's lateral thinking puzzle comes from Jed's List of Situation Puzzles, suggested to us by listener David Morgan. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar 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. And you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits! Solve along with us as we explore some strange scenarios using only yes-or-no questions. Many were submitted by listeners, and most are based on real events. A few associated links -- these spoil the puzzles, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 Puzzle #3 Puzzle #4 You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Futility Closet listeners can get $5 off their first purchase at Harry's -- enter coupon code CLOSET at checkout. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. And you can finally follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening!