Futility Closet

In the 1870s, new farmsteads on the American plains were beset by enormous swarms of grasshoppers sweeping eastward from the Rocky Mountains. The insects were a disaster for vulnerable farmers, attacking in enormous numbers and devouring everything before them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the grasshopper plagues and the settlers' struggles against them. We'll also delve into urban legends and puzzle over some vanishing children. Intro: In 2001, a Washington earthquake drew a rose with a pendulum. In 2003, Japanese web designer Nobuyuki Kayahara created a curiously ambiguous animation. Sources for our feature on the grasshopper plagues: Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier, 2009. Annette Atkins, Harvest of Grief: Grasshopper Plagues and Public Assistance in Minnesota, 1873-78, 2003. Joanna Stratton, Pioneer Women, 2013. Samuel Clay Bassett, Buffalo County, Nebraska, and Its People, 1916. Harold E. Briggs, "Grasshopper Plagues and Early Dakota Agriculture, 1864-1876," Agricultural History 8:2 (April 1934), 51-63. Stephen Gross, "The Grasshopper Shrine at Cold Spring, Minnesota: Religion and Market Capitalism Among German-American Catholics," Catholic Historical Review 92:2 (April 2006), 215-243. Mary K. Fredericksen, "The Grasshopper Wars," The Palimpsest 62:5 (1981), 150-161. Cyrus C. Carpenter, "The Grasshopper Invasion," Annals of Iowa 4:6 (July 1900), 437-447. Chuck Lyons, "The Year of the Locust," Wild West 24:6 (April 2012), 44-49. Wiley Britton, "The Grasshopper Plague of 1866 in Kansas," Scientific Monthly 25:6 (December 1927), 540-545. G. Prosper Zaleski, "The Grasshopper Plague," Scientific American 33:9 (Aug. 28, 1875), 132. Thomas Hayden, "A Long-Ago Plague of Locusts," U.S. News & World Report 136:19 (May 31, 2004), 66. Kathie Bell, "The Grasshopper Plague," Dodge City Daily Globe, April 15, 2019. Lance Nixon, "Dakota Life: The Grasshopper and the Plow," [Topeka, Kan.] Capital Journal, Sept. 3, 2015. Frank Lee, "Grasshopper Chapel Inspires Faith, Prayer," St. Cloud [Minn.] Times, Aug. 6, 2005, C.1. "The Grasshopper Plague," New York Times, July 1, 1888. "The Grasshopper Plague," New York Times, Dec. 29, 1876. "The Bright Side of the Grasshopper Plague," New York Times, July 17, 1875. "The Grasshopper Plague," New York Times, Aug. 10, 1874. "The Locusts of the West," New York Times, July 14, 1874. "The Grasshopper Plague," New York Times, July 14, 1874. "The Grasshopper Plague," New York Times, July 10, 1874. "The Grasshoppers," New York Times, July 10, 1874. "A Plague of Grasshoppers," New York Times, June 22, 1874. Matthew Garcia, "Melanoplus spretus: Rocky Mountain Locust," Animal Diversity Web (accessed Feb. 22, 2020). R.L. Cartwright, "Grasshopper Plagues, 1873–1877," MNopedia, Nov. 17, 2011. Listener mail: "If you thinking about taking a NIGHT TRAIN in ITALY DON'T," Lonely Planet (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). "Urgently Need Advice About Trenitalia Sleeper Trains," Tripadvisor (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). Wikipedia, "Rick Steves" (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). "About Rick Steves," Rick Steves' Europe (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). "Sleeping on Trains," Rick Steves' Europe (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). John Hooper, "'Sleeping Gas' Thieves Target Super-Rich at Italian Billionaires' Resort," Guardian, Aug. 30, 2011. Wikipedia, "Jan Harold Brunvand" (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). Wikipedia, "Urban Legend" (accessed Feb. 14, 2020). Jan Harold Brunvand, The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings, 2003. Andrew Noymer, "The Transmission and Persistence of 'Urban Legends': Sociological Application of Age-Structured Epidemic Models," Journal of Mathematical Sociology 25:3 (2001), 299-323. Henry B. Dunn and Charlotte A. Allen, "Rumors, Urban Legends and Internet Hoaxes," Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators, 2005. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Frequently Asked Questions," March 21, 2018. Mayo Clinic, "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning," Oct. 16, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Moxie LaBouche, 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!

When Maria Marten disappeared from the English village of Polstead in 1827, her lover said that they had married and were living on the Isle of Wight. But Maria's stepmother began having disturbing dreams that hinted at a much grimmer fate. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Red Barn, which transfixed Britain in the early 19th century. We'll also encounter an unfortunate copycat and puzzle over some curious births. Intro: In 1859, a penurious Henry Thoreau donated $5 to a college library. Georges Perec rendered "Ozymandias" without the letter E. Sources for our feature on the Red Barn: James Curtis, The Murder of Maria Marten, 1828. Shane McCorristine, William Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body, 2014. Lucy Worsley, The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock, 2014. James Moore, Murder at the Inn: A History of Crime in Britain's Pubs and Hotels, 2015. Colin Wilson, A Casebook of Murder, 2015. Maryrose Cuskelly, Original Skin: Exploring the Marvels of the Human Hide, 2011. Henry Vizetelly, The Romance of Crime, 1860. "Trial of William Corder for the Murder of Maria Marten," Annual Register, 1828, 337-349. James Redding Ware, Wonderful Dreams of Remarkable Men and Women, 1884. Jessie Dobson, "The College Criminals: 4. William Corder," Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 11:4 (1952), 249. Richard Grady, "Personal Identity Established by the Teeth; the Dentist a Scientific Expert," American Journal of Dental Science 17:9 (1884), 385. Harry Cocks, "The Pre-History of Print and Online Dating, c. 1690-1990," in I. Alev Degim, James Johnson, and Tao Fu, Online Courtship: Interpersonal Interactions Across Borders, 2015. Sarah Tarlow, "Curious Afterlives: The Enduring Appeal of the Criminal Corpse," Mortality 21:3 (2016), 210–228. Ruth Penfold-Mounce, "Consuming Criminal Corpses: Fascination With the Dead Criminal Body," Mortality 15:3 (August 2010), 250-265. "The Trial of William Corder, for the Wilful Murder of Maria Marten, Etc.," 1828. "The Trial, at Length, of William Corder, Convicted of the Murder of Maria Marten," 1828. "An Accurate Account of the Trial of William Corder for the Murder of Maria Marten," 1828. "The Trial of William Corder at the Assizes, Bury St. Edmunds," 1828. "Dream Testimony," Notes & Queries 52, Dec. 27, 1856. Paul Collins, "The Molecatcher's Daughter," Independent on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, 20. Peter Watson, "Alternatives: Natural Barn Killer," Guardian, Feb. 19, 1995, 23. Jonathan Kay, "Lessons From a Molecatcher's Daughter," National Post, Jan. 9, 2007, A17. Michael Horsnell, "Red Barn Murderer Finally Laid to Rest," Times, Aug. 18, 2004, 10. Max Haines, "The Red Barn Murder," Sudbury [Ontario] Star, Aug. 16, 2003, D.11. Maryrose Cuskelly, "Of Human Bondage," Australian, June 3, 2009, 18. "Gruesome Murder Still Has the Power to Fascinate," East Anglian Daily Times, Oct. 28, 2013. "True Crime From the 1820s: Shades of Capote," Weekend Edition Saturday, National Public Radio, Oct. 28, 2006. Colin Wilson, "A Murder Mystery: Why Do Some Killings Dominate the Headlines?", Times, Jan. 28, 2006, 25. Pamela Owen, "The Day Murder Became a National Obsession," The People, Sept. 22, 2013, 34. Stephanie Markinson, "Dark History," Yorkshire Post, Jan. 10, 2020, 7. "Collection Articles: The Trial, at Length, of William Corder, Convicted of the Murder of Maria Marten," British Library (accessed Feb. 2, 2020). Alsager Richard Vian, "Corder, William," Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 12. Alsager Vian, "Corder, William," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sept. 23, 2004. Listener mail: Malcolm Gladwell, "Safety in the Skies," Gladwell.com, Oct. 1, 2001. Hugh Morris, "The Strangest Stories From the Golden Age of Plane Hijacking," Telegraph, July 5, 2019. Thom Patterson, "How the Era of 'Skyjackings' Changed the Way We Fly," CNN, Oct. 2, 2017. "Three Cheeseburgers and a Rental Car," Fear of Landing, July 26, 2019. Wikipedia, "D. B. Cooper" (accessed Feb. 4, 2020). Joni Balter, "Attorney: Hijacker Couldn't Hurt Anyone," UPI, Jan. 21, 1983. "Man Killed in Attempted Hijacking on Coast," UPI, Jan. 21, 1983. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by both Ronald Gainey and Chris Zinsli, based on an item they heard on the podcast 99% Invisible. Here are four additional 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 1952, New Zealander Tom Neale set out to establish a solitary life for himself on a remote island in the South Pacific. In all he would spend 17 years there, building a fulfilling life fending entirely for himself. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Neale's adventures on the island and his impressions of an isolated existence. We'll also revisit Scunthorpe and puzzle over a boat's odd behavior. Intro: A 17th-century London handbill advertised the virtues of coffee. In 1905 Mark Twain illustrated the full meaning of a prayer for military victory. Sources for our feature on Tom Neale: Tom Neale, An Island to Oneself: The Story of Six Years on a Desert Island, 1966. Dom Degnon, Sails Full and By, 1995. James C. Simmons, Castaway in Paradise: The Incredible Adventures of True-Life Robinson Crusoes, 1998. Nataša Potocnik, "Robert Dean Frisbie -- An American Writer in the South Pacific," Acta Neophilologica 33:1-2 (2000), 93-105. Joseph Bockrath, "Law on Remote Islands: The Convergence of Fact and Fiction," Legal Studies Forum 27 (2003), 21. Alexey Turchin and Brian Patrick Green, "Islands as Refuges for Surviving Global Catastrophes," Foresight 21:1 (2019), 100-117. Ella Morton, "The Self-Made Castaway Who Spent 16 Years on an Atoll With His Cats," Slate, Oct. 26, 2015. Bette Thompson, "The Happy Exile," New York Times, Nov. 26, 1972. Gerard Hindmarsh, "An Island to Oneself Revisited," Nelson [New Zealand] Mail, Dec. 15, 2018, 6. "Book Mark," Niue News Update, Sept. 18, 2001. Listener mail: A photo taken by Derryl Murphy's grandfather of a ski plane at Fort Reliance, Northwest Territories. Joel Tansey, "Looking Back at the Original Trapper, Golden's Premier Meeting Place," Golden [B.C.] Star, May 28, 2015. Audrey Gillan, "Town Gets Stuck Into Semolina," Guardian, Oct. 27, 2006. "Semolina Snowfall for Yarmouth," [Norwich, U.K.] Eastern Daily Press, Oct. 26, 2006. "Sticky Problem of Semolina Spill," BBC News, Oct. 27, 2006. Wikipedia, "Semolina" (accessed Jan. 31, 2020). Mary Branscombe, "Lyft Is Having Its Scunthorpe Moment Because We Don't Learn From History," Twitter, Dec. 20, 2019. Andrew J. Hawkins, "Lyft's Algorithm Is Trying to Block People With Names Like 'Dick,' 'Finger,' and 'Cummings,'" The Verge, Dec. 19, 2019. Alyse Stanley, "Need a Lyft? Too Bad, Dick Assman," Gizmodo, Dec. 19, 2019. Lisa Eadicicco, "Lyft Thought Some Users' Real Names Were Offensive Content. Candice Poon, Cara Dick, Mike Finger, and Others Were Ordered to Get New Names Within 2 Days," Business Insider, Dec. 19, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Patrick Steinkuhl, 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!

In 1896, Norwegian immigrant Helga Estby faced the foreclosure of her family's Washington farm. To pay the debt she accepted a wager to walk across the United States within seven months. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow her daring bid to win the prize, and its surprising consequence. We'll also toast Edgar Allan Poe and puzzle over a perplexing train. Intro: The Dutch and French words for kidney are reversals of one another. In Japan, Douglas Adams encountered a new conception of persistence. Sources for our feature on Helga Estby: Linda Lawrence Hunt, Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America, 2007. Margaret Riddle, "Estby, Helga (1860-1942)," HistoryLink, Sept. 23, 2011. Stefanie Pettit, "Helga Estby a Walking Tale," Spokesman Review, July 9, 2015, S.8. Pia Hallenberg Christensen, "Cross-Country Walk Inspires Women," [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman Review, May 3, 2008, B.1. Chris Rodkey, "Women Get No Mileage From Cross-Country Trek," Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2003, A.27. Linda Duval, "The Forgotten Walk: Helga Estby's Hike Across America," [Colorado Springs, Colo.] Gazette, June 8, 2003, LIFE1. Dan Webster, "A Feat Nearly Forgotten," [Spokane, Wash.] Spokesman Review, April 27, 2003, F1. "Mrs. Helga Estby," Spokane Daily Chronicle, April 21, 1942. "A $10,000 Walk," Saint Paul Globe, June 2, 1897, 3. "From Spokane to New York," San Francisco Call 79:157 (May 5, 1896), 4. Listener mail: Ian Duncan, "New Poe Toaster Takes Up a Baltimore Tradition," Baltimore Sun, Jan. 17, 2016. Keith Perry, "New Spate of Attacks by Sleeping Gas Gang, Caravanners Warned," Telegraph, Sept. 1, 2014. Joel Gunter, "Jenson Button Robbery: Are French Burglars Really Using Has?", BBC News, Aug. 7, 2015. Sarah Hilley, "Holiday Couple Gassed and Robbed," Swindon Advertiser, Aug. 15, 2007. "Gassed When Wild Camping," Motor Home Fun, March 31, 2009. "Travelling In France - Warning," Caravan Talk, Aug. 16, 2007. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Colin Sommers, 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 the 1930s the world's best-known conservationist was an ex-trapper named Grey Owl who wrote and lectured ardently for the preservation of the Canadian wilderness. At his death, though, it was discovered that he wasn't who he'd claimed to be. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of his curious history and complicated legacy. We'll also learn how your father can be your uncle and puzzle over a duplicate record. Intro: Dutch engineer Theo Jansen builds sculptures that walk. Helen Fouché Gaines' 1956 cryptanalysis textbook ends with a cipher that "nobody has ever been able to decrypt." Sources for our feature on Grey Owl: Donald B. Smith, From the Land of Shadows: The Making of Grey Owl, 2000. Albert Braz, Apostate Englishman: Grey Owl the Writer and the Myths, 2015. Jane Billinghurst, Grey Owl: The Many Faces of Archie Belaney, 1999. Allison Mitcham, Grey Owl's Favorite Wilderness Revisited, 1991. Lovat Dickson, Wilderness Man: The Strange Story of Grey Owl, 1973. Anahareo, Devil in Deerskins: My Life With Grey Owl, 1972. James Polk, Wilderness Writers, 1972. Brian Bethune, "Truth and Consequences," Maclean's 112:40 (Oct. 4, 1999), 58. Kenneth Brower, "Grey Owl," Atlantic 265:1 (January 1990), 74-84. Trent Frayne, "Grey Owl the Magnificent Fraud," Maclean's 64 (Aug. 1, 1951), 14-16, 37-39. Dane Lanken, "The Vision of Grey Owl," Canadian Geographic 119:2 (March/April 1999), 74-80. Fenn Stewart, "Grey Owl in the White Settler Wilderness: 'Imaginary Indians' in Canadian Culture and Law," Law, Culture and the Humanities 14:1 (Oct. 8, 2014), 161-181. Kevin Young, "Cowboys & Aliens," Kenyon Review 39:6 (November/December 2017), 10-32. David Chapin, "Gender and Indian Masquerade in the Life of Grey Owl," American Indian Quarterly 24:1 (Winter 2000), 91-109. John Hayman, "Grey Owl's Wild Goose Chase," History Today 44:1 (January 1994), 42. Mark Collin Reid, "Grey Owl," Canada's History 95:5 (October/November 2015), 14-15. Donald B. Smith, "Belaney, Archibald Stansfeld [called Grey Owl]," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sept. 23, 2004. Donald B. Smith, "Belaney, Archibald Stansfeld, Known as Grey Owl and Wa-sha-quon-asin," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. 16, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003 (accessed Jan. 5, 2020). Donald B. Smith, "Archibald Belaney, Grey Owl," The Canadian Encyclopedia, June 17, 2008 (accessed Jan. 5, 2020). Susan Griffith, "Grey Owl: Champion of the Canadian Wilderness," Independent, Nov. 12, 2015. Jane Onyanga-Omara, "Grey Owl: Canada's Great Conservationist and Imposter," BBC News, Sept. 19, 2013. James H. Marsh, "Grey Owl's Great Deception," CanWest News, Sept. 17, 2003, 1. Tony Lofaro, "Why I Kept Grey Owl's Secret," Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 21, 1999, D3. Peter Unwin, "The Fabulations of Grey Owl," The Beaver 79:2 (April 1999), 13-19. Henrietta Smyth, "Grey Owl Returns to England," North Bay [Ont.] Nugget, April 3, 1999, B1. "Grey Owl," New York Times, April 17, 1938. "Service Honors Grey Owl," New York Times, April 16, 1938. "Grey Owl, Worker for Conservation," New York Times, April 14, 1938. "Doctor and Nurse to Beavers in Canada Is Indian Grey Owl," New York Times, June 24, 1934. "Do You Know?", Roanoke Rapids [N.C.] Herald, Nov. 24, 1932, 2. Listener mail: Roger Schlueter, "Getting a Bone Marrow Transplant Could Give You New DNA, Too," Belleville [Ill.] News-Democrat, Jan. 16, 2018. "She's Her Own Twin," ABC News, Aug. 15, 2006. Wikipedia, "Lydia Fairchild" (accessed Jan. 8, 2020). Wikipedia, "Chimera (Genetics)" (accessed Jan. 9, 2020). Jessica Richardson, "Man Fails Paternity Test Due to Passing on Unborn Twin's DNA," BioNews, Nov. 2, 2015. Alice Park, "How a Man's Unborn Twin Fathered His Child," Time, Oct. 28, 2015. Heather Murphy, "When a DNA Test Says You're a Younger Man, Who Lives 5,000 Miles Away," New York Times, Dec. 7, 2019. Heather Murphy, "The Case of a Man With Two Sets of DNA Raises More Questions," New York Times, Dec. 12, 2019. Carl Zimmer, "In the Marmoset Family, Things Really Do Appear to Be All Relative," New York Times, March 27, 2007. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Paul Kapp. 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!

1930 saw the quiet conclusion of a remarkable era. The tiny population of St. Kilda, an isolated Scottish archipelago, decided to end their thousand-year tenure as the most remote community in Britain and move to the mainland. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the remarkable life they'd shared on the island and the reasons they chose to leave. We'll also track a stork to Sudan and puzzle over the uses of tea trays. Intro: Reportedly the 3rd Earl of Darnley believed he was a teapot. Henry Hudson's journal records a 1610 encounter with a mermaid. Sources for our feature on St. Kilda: Charles MacLean, Island on the Edge of the World: The Story of St Kilda, 1972. Tom Steel, The Life and Death of St. Kilda: The Moving Story of a Vanished Island Community, 2011. Andrew Fleming, St Kilda and the Wider World: Tales of an Iconic Island, 2005. Alexander Buchan, A Description of St. Kilda, The Most Remote Western Isle of Scotland, 1741. Martin Martin, A Voyage to St. Kilda, 1749. George Seton, St Kilda Past and Present, 1878. Alastair Gray, A History of Scotland, 1989. John Macculloch, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, 1819. Fraser MacDonald, "St Kilda and the Sublime," Ecumene 8:2 (2001), 151-174. L.F. Powell, "The History of St. Kilda," Review of English Studies 16:61 (January 1940), 44-53. "St. Kilda," British Medical Journal 1:2683 (June 1, 1912), 1249-1251. "St. Kilda," British Medical Journal 2:3418 (July 10, 1926), 80-81. Fergus McIntosh, "A Trip to St. Kilda, Scotland's Lost Utopia in the Sea," New Yorker, Dec. 3, 2017. Alison Campsie, "New Images Throw Light on a St Kilda Fit for the 21st Century," Scotsman, Oct. 8, 2018, 24. Roger Cox, "Deserted Streets, Sea Cliffs and Stark Military Towers Show Real St Kilda in Black and White," Scotsman, May 26, 2018, 58. Neel Mukherjee, "A Veritable No Man's Land, Off the Coast of Scotland," New York Times, May 7, 2018. Alison Campsie, "What It's Like Living on St Kilda," Scotsman, Feb. 21, 2018. "'End of an Era': Last Native of Remote Island St Kilda Dies," [London] Express, April 7, 2016. Gabriella Swerlingwrites, "St Kilda: Islands That Were Not So Remote After All," Times, Nov. 3, 2015, 5. "Norman John Gillies: Obituaries," Daily Telegraph, Oct. 3, 2013, 35. Steven McKenzie, "The New Residents of St Kilda Archipelago," BBC News, Aug. 29, 2010. "Eighty Years Ago St Kilda Was Evacuated. Today One of Only Two Survivors Remembers Leaving the Islands," Scotsman, Aug. 11, 2010. Charlie English, "St Kilda: The Edge of the World," Guardian, Aug. 28, 2009. Nigel Johnson, "St. Kilda Tells of Lonely, Difficult Existence," Winnipeg Free Press, June 10, 2006, E.6. Nigel Richardson, "Revisiting the Margin of the World," National Post, Aug. 21, 1999, B12. Edmund Antrobus, "St. Kilda, the Enigma Out to Sea," [Bergen County, N.J.] Record, Aug. 15, 1999. "Return to St Kilda," Glasgow Herald, March 18, 1987. "Island to Be Abandoned," New York Times, July 30, 1930. "St. Kilda," London Graphic, Nov. 14, 1885. "St Kilda," Caledonian Mercury, Sept. 1, 1834. "Stories from St Kilda," National Records of Scotland (accessed Dec. 29, 2019). Listener mail: "Polish Charity Gets Huge Phone Bill Thanks to Stork," BBC News, June 28, 2018. "Polish Stork Vanishes From GPS but Delivers Huge Phone Bill," AP News, June 29, 2018. Iain Thomson, "What a Flap: SIM Swiped From Slain Stork's GPS Tracker Used to Rack Up $2,700 Phone Bill," The Register, July 3, 2018. Helena Horton, "Palmerston, the Foreign Office Cat, Returns to Work After Six Months Off for Stress," Telegraph, Dec. 2, 2019. Megan Baynes, "Foreign Office Cat Palmerston Returns to Work After Six Months Off With Stress," London Press Association, Dec. 3, 2019. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Miriam Fewtrell, based on a fact she read in Leonard Mosley's 1974 book The Reich Marshal: A Biography of Hermann Goering. 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!

At the turn of the 20th century, a rogue tiger terrorized the villages of Nepal and northern India. By the time British hunter Jim Corbett was called in, it had killed 434 people. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Corbett's pursuit of the elusive cat, and his enlightened efforts to address the source of the problem. We'll also revisit a Confederate spy and puzzle over a bloody ship. Intro: Ralph Beaman devised a sentence that ends with 15 prepositions. The stones of Pennsylvania's Ringing Rocks Park chime when struck. Sources for our feature on the Champawat tiger: Jim Corbett, Man-Eaters of Kumaon, 1944. Dane Huckelbridge, No Beast So Fierce: The Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Man-Eater in History, 2019. Hemanta Mishra, Bones of the Tiger: Protecting the Man-Eaters of Nepal, 2010. Nayanika Mathur, Paper Tiger, 2016. Sujeet Kumar Singh, et al., "Understanding Human–Tiger Conflict Around Corbett Tiger Reserve India: A Case Study Using Forensic Genetics," Wildlife Biology in Practice 11:1 (June 2015), 1-11. Iti Roychowdhury, "Man Eaters and the Eaten Men: A Study of the Portrayal of Indians in the Writings of Jim Corbett," Research Journal of English Language and Literature 5:1 (January-March 2017), 37-41. A.J.T. Johnsingh, "Status and Conservation of the Tiger in Uttaranchal, Northern India," AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 35:3 (May 2006), 135-137. Jim Doherty, "Tigers at the Gate," Smithsonian 32:10 (January 2002), 66-67. Sarah Zielinski, "How a Tiger Transforms Into a Man-Eater," Science News, March 19, 2019. Adele Conover, "The Object at Hand," Smithsonian 26:8 (November 1995), 28. "Jim Corbett Dies; Big-Game Hunter; Told of His Exploits Against Indian Killer Tigers in 'Man-Eaters of Kumaon,'" New York Times, April 21, 1955. "Champawat Residents Remember Jim Corbett on Birth Anniversary," Hindustan Times, July 26, 2017. "The Remarkable Legacy of Tiger Jim," Independent, Nov. 1, 2007, 38. Michael T. Kaufman, "Tiger, Protected From Man, Flourishes Again in India; The Tiger, Protected, Prospers in India Tiger Cubs Live Longer A Special Counting Method," New York Times, Sept. 16, 1980. Christine Hauser, "Number of Tigers in the Wild Is Rising, Wildlife Groups Say," New York Times, April 11, 2016. "A Hunter Who Went on to Save the Hunted," The Hindu, Nov. 10, 2018. "Remembering Corbett! A Legend, Man of Many Parts," [New Delhi] Pioneer, July 26, 2015. "The Tiger Hunter Who Earned His Stripes," Sunday Telegraph, Oct. 13, 2019, 16. Vineet Upadhyay, "Jim Corbett's 100-Yr-Old Rifle Returns Home to His Village," Economic Times, April 6, 2016. Dane Huckelbridge, "How to Ensure Tigers Come Roaring Back," Globe and Mail, Feb. 9, 2019, O.5. D.B.N. Murthy, "It Is Jim Corbett's Country," Alive 365 (March 2013), 48-50. Gregory Crouch, "'No Beast So Fierce' Review: The Making of a Killer," Wall Street Journal, Feb. 4, 2019. R. Raj Rao, "'No Beast So Fierce: The Champawat Tiger and Her Hunter, the First Tiger Conservationist' by Dane Huckelbridge: In the Forests of the Night," The Hindu, May 11, 2019. Bill Purves, "History's Deadliest Single Animal? Story of the Killer Indian Tiger and the Man Who Hunted It Down Detailed in New Book," South China Morning Post, March 6, 2019. Listener mail: The Patreon posts mentioned in the listener mail segment are "Greenhow Misgivings" (discussing the problem) and "Followup to 'Greenhow Misgivings'" (describing the measures we took). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Steven Jones. 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!

Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles -- play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no questions. Intro: Ixonia, Wisconsin, was named at random. Ben Franklin harnessed the power of long-term interest to make large gifts to Boston and Philadelphia. The sources for this week's puzzles are below. In two places we've included links to further information -- these contain spoilers, so don't click until you've listened to the episode: Puzzle #1 is from listener Gabriel Bizcarra. Puzzle #2 is adapted from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 2014 book Remarkable Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Puzzle #3 is from Greg. Puzzle #4 is from listener Peter Quinn. Puzzle #5 is from Greg. Here are two links. Puzzle #6 is from Sharon. Two links. 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 the winter of 1931, a dramatic manhunt unfolded in northern Canada when a reclusive trapper shot a constable and fled across the frigid landscape. In the chase that followed the mysterious fugitive amazed his pursuers with his almost superhuman abilities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the hunt for the "Mad Trapper of Rat River." We'll also visit a forgotten windbreak and puzzle over a father's age. Intro: Korean soldier Yang Kyoungjong was conscripted successively by Japan, the Soviet Union, and Germany. In 1978, Arnold Rosenberg examined idioms to trace a path to the most incomprehensible natural language. RCMP constable Alfred King is at far left in the photo; constable Edgar Millen is second from right. Sources for our feature on Albert Johnson: Dick North, Mad Trapper of Rat River: A True Story of Canada's Biggest Manhunt, 2005. Barbara Smith, The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery, 2011. Richard C. Davis, "The Mad Trapper, by Rudy Wiebe," Arctic 35:2 (1982), 342. Leslie McCartney, "'You Need to Tell That True Albert Johnson Story Like We Know It': Meanings Embedded in the Gwich'in Version of the Albert Johnson Story," Canadian Journal of Native Studies 37:1 (2017), 201-235. "Who Was the Mad Trapper of Rat River?", Forensic Magazine, June 6, 2018. "Lawbreakers: More Hustlers, Rustlers and Wild Men," Canada's History 96:2 (April/May 2016). Jay Merrett, "Caught by the Mad Trapper," Canada's History 93:1 (February/March 2013). Bob Butz, "Bad Guys Gone 'Wild,'" Outdoor Life 213:6 (June/July 2006), 19. Alan Phillips, "Who Was the Mad Trapper of Rat River?", Maclean's, Oct. 1, 1955. Barbara Roden, "The Mad Trapper Part 4: The Quest to Identify Albert Johnson Begins," [Ashcroft, B.C.] Journal, Sept. 17, 2019. Barbara Roden, "Golden Country: The Mad Trapper Part 5," [Ashcroft, B.C.] Journal, Oct. 3, 2019. Marc Montgomery, "Canada History: Feb 17, 1932: The End and Beginning of the Mystery of the Mad Trapper," Radio Canada International, Feb. 17, 2017. Michael Gates, "Dick North: Farewell to Yukon's Great Storyteller," Yukon News, Oct. 4, 2013. "Hunt for the Mad Trapper -- The Story Ends," [Swan Hills, Alberta] Grizzly Gazette, March 13, 2012, 5. "Hunt for the Mad Trapper," [Swan Hills, Alberta] Grizzly Gazette, Jan. 10, 2012, 4. Josh Wingrove, "Feb. 17, 1932 / Mounties Get the Mad Trapper," Globe and Mail, Feb. 17, 2011, A.2. Joe McWilliams, "Mad Trapper Story Still Fascinates," [High Prairie, Alberta] South Peace News, Dec. 15, 2010, 6. Darah Hansen, "Tooth Enamel Reveals Mad Trapper No Canadian," Edmonton Journal, May 23, 2009, A.5. James Adams, "DNA Tests Prove Mad Trapper Still a Mystery," Globe and Mail, May 13, 2009, R.1. "Mad Trapper Not a Canadian, Scientific Tests Discover," CBC News, Feb. 20, 2009. Jeff Holubitsky, "Fugitive Could Live All Winter in Deep Bush, Outfitter Says," Edmonton Journal, Oct. 10, 2007, A18. Erin Hitchcock, "The Mad Trapper, Unmasked," [New Westminster, B.C.] Record, Sept. 15, 2007, 3. "Trapper Almost Evades Capture," Guelph Mercury, Aug. 16, 2007, A6. "Filmmakers Exhume Mad Trapper's Body," Nanaimo [B.C] Daily News, Aug. 15, 2007, A2. Keith Bonnell, "Mystery of 'Mad Trapper' Nearly Solved," Vancouver Sun, Aug. 15, 2007, C10. "Mad Trapper's Remains Surface in Historic Dig," CBC News, Aug 13, 2007. Katherine Harding, "Hunt for the Mad Trapper Is Back On," Globe and Mail, May 29, 2007, A.3. "Remains of Mad Trapper of Rat River Could Finally Lead to Identification," [Prince Rupert, B.C.] Daily News, May 7, 2007, 11. "Mad Trapper Mystery May Finally Be Solved," Winnipeg Free Press, May 5, 2007, A.13. Ian Mcinroy, "Tracker of Mad Trapper Remembered," [Barrie, Ontario] Examiner, Jan. 13, 2006, A3. Tom Hawthorn, "He Hunted the Mad Trapper," Globe and Mail, March 15, 2003, F.11. Bob Gilmour, "Frontiersmen Pay Tribute to Trapper's Victim," Edmonton Journal, Sept. 28, 1997, A.10. Kerry Powell, "Glory Days; Mad Trapper's Nemesis; Signal Success," Edmonton Journal, Aug. 6, 1995, B.3. "Group to Retrace Mad Trapper Route," Hamilton Spectator, March 5, 1994, A8. Rudy Wiebe, "Trapper Identification Fails to Convince Author," Edmonton Journal, Sept. 2, 1989, E6. Garth Hopkins, "Sequel to The Mad Trapper of Rat River Fascinating Piece of Work," Vancouver Sun, July 29, 1989, D4. Alan Hustak, "a.k.a. the Mad Trapper," [Montreal] Gazette, May 13, 1989, K12. Lynne Van Luven, "Hobby-Turned-Obsession Led to Mad Trapper Solution," Edmonton Journal, May 13, 1989, D3. "Hunt Resumes for Elusive Mad Trapper," Ottawa Citizen, May 9, 1987, H15. "Mad Trapper Film Sparks Furor," Globe and Mail, April 2, 1980, P.16. "Royal Police Get Insane Trapper -- Dead," Las Vegas Age, Feb. 18, 1932, 1. "A Most Bizarre Case: The Mad Trapper of Rat River," Whitehorse Star, Feb. 17, 1932. "Mad Trapper Eludes Cops," Las Vegas Age, Feb. 10, 1932, 1. "Plane Nears Aklavik in Hunt for Trapper," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Feb. 5, 1932, C-5. "Canadian Trapper Slays Policeman," Bismarck Tribune, Feb. 1, 1932, 2. "'Mad Hermit' Flees Canadian Police," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Jan. 27, 1932, A-7. "10 Men Off to Take Barricaded Trapper," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Jan. 20, 1932, B-5. "Canadian Trapper Has Defied Police," Bismarck Tribune, Jan. 14, 1932, 1. "Arctic Trapper Defies Officers," [Washington, D.C.] Evening Star, Jan. 14, 1932, A-16. "Constable Millen's Cairn Territorial Historic Site," Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (accessed Dec. 1, 2019). Edward Butts, "Albert Johnson, 'The Mad Trapper of Rat River,'" Canadian Encyclopedia, Jan. 22, 2008. Leslie McCartney, "That Albert Johnson Story: Aboriginal Oral History Inclusion in Canadian Archives," First Nations, First Thoughts Conference, University of Edinburgh, May 2005. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Anna Sorokin," (accessed Dec. 4, 2019). "A Fake Heiress Bilked NYC Socialites for Years. Then the Elaborate Hoax Unraveled," CBS News, March 27, 2019. Emily Palmer, "A Fake Heiress Called Anna Delvey Conned the City's Wealthy. 'I'm Not Sorry,' She Says," New York Times, May 10, 2019. "Anna Sorokin: Fake Heiress Apologises as She Is Sentenced," BBC News, May 9, 2019. Jonathan Allen, "Fake Heiress Who Dazzled New York Elite Gets 4 to 12 Years for Fraud," Reuters, May 9, 2019. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Dust Bowl," Dec. 12, 2019. "Dust Bowl," History.com, March 14, 2019. Adam Wernick, "Trees That Helped Save America's Farms During the Dust Bowl Are Now Under Threat," Public Radio International, Feb. 3, 2018. Wikipedia, "Great Plains Shelterbelt" (accessed Dec. 2, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Paul Bigler. 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!

As the Civil War fractured Washington D.C., socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow coordinated a vital spy ring to funnel information to the Confederates. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe one of the war's most unlikely spies, and her determination to aid the South. We'll also fragment the queen's birthday and puzzle over a paid game of pinball. Intro: German officer Ernst Jünger likened the sounds of World War I shelling to "being menaced by a man swinging a heavy hammer." Bowdoin College compiled a list of odd how-to titles. NOTE: After this episode was originally released, some listeners objected to our handling of Greenhow's story, saying that we were treating her too sympathetically when she was defending the institution of slavery. They're entirely right about that -- I had focused on her personal story without being sensitive to its larger implications. I'm very sorry for that oversight. We're presenting the story here as it originally ran, and we'll discuss listeners' reactions to it in Episode 279. -- Greg Sources for our feature: Ann Blackman, Wild Rose: Rose O'Neale Greenhow, Civil War Spy, 2006. Ishbel Ross, Rebel Rose: Life of Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy, 1954. Karen Abbott, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, 2014. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington, 1863. H. Donald Winkler, Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War, 2010. Michael J. Sulick, Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War, 2014. Allan Pinkerton, The Spy of the Rebellion, 1886. John Bakeless, Spies of the Confederacy, 2011. Ernest B. Furgurson, "The End of Illusions," Smithsonian 42:4 (July/August 2011), 56-64. Jack Finnegan, "Professional Results for an Amateur," Military History, suppl. "Spies and Secret Missions: A History of American Espionage" (2002), 34-35. Nancy B. Samuelson, "Employment of Female Spies in the American Civil War," Minerva 7:3 (Dec. 31, 1989), 57. "Seized Correspondence of Rose O'Neal Greenhow," U.S. National Archives (accessed Nov. 24, 2019). Rose O'Neal Greenhow Papers, Special Collections Library, Duke University. "The Wild Rose of Washington," New York Times, Aug. 22, 2011. "Spy Loved, Died in Line of Duty," [Wilmington, N.C] Morning Star, Dec. 31, 1999, 23. "Civil War Day by Day," Washington [D.C.] Herald, Sept. 30, 1914, 4. "Fair Southern Spies," [Savannah, Ga.] Morning News, Sept. 29, 1896, 5. "Blockade Running," [Winston, N.C.] Western Sentinel, Jan. 14, 1886. "A Rich New Year's Gift," Yorkville [S.C.] Enquirer, Feb. 6, 1862, 1. "The Female Traitors in Washington," New York Herald, Jan. 22, 1862, 2. "Mrs. Greenhow's Indignant Letter to Mr. Seward," New York Herald, Dec. 16, 1861, 4. Phyllis F. Field, "Greenhow, Rose O'Neal," American National Biography, February 2000. Listener mail: "Public Holidays in Western Australia," Government of Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (accessed Nov. 27, 2019). Wikipedia, "Oscar Wilde" (accessed Nov. 27, 2019). Howard Markel, "No, Oscar Wilde Probably Didn't Die of Syphilis," PBS NewsHour, Nov. 30, 2015. Jon Henley, "Wilde Gets Revenge on Wallpaper," Guardian, Dec. 1, 2000. "What Are the Best Last Words Ever?", Atlantic 317:4 (April 2016), 13. "Grand Lakes St. Marys Educational Series: History of GLSM What You Don't Know," Lake Improvement Association (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). "Grand Lake St. Marys State Park: History," Ohio State Parks and Watercraft (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). Lew Powell, "Behind the Lines, Fighting Malaria With Whiskey," North Carolina Miscellany, July 10, 2011. Wikipedia, "Gin and Tonic" (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). Wikipedia, "Tonic Water" (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). "'The Book of Gin' Distills a Spirited History," Morning Edition, National Public Radio, Dec. 28, 2012. Kal Raustiala, "The Imperial Cocktail," Slate, Aug. 28, 2013. "The Largest Human-Made Lakes in the World," WorldAtlas (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). Wikipedia, "Lake Kariba" (accessed Nov. 30, 2019). This week's lateral thinking puzzle was inspired by an item heard 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!