Useless Information Podcast

Tinker the toad was found buried under a 6-inch thick concrete floor.  The slab had been poured nine years earlier.  Find out if and how Tinker survived this long entombment.  Also learn about the best-selling coffee in the United States, a judge named Valentine that divorced the Valentines on Valentine's Day, Hedda Hopper's stinky Valentine's Day gift, and a Valentine that was just a hunk of slate sent through the mail.  Retrosponsor: Maxwell House coffee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Incredible true story of Count Karl von Cosel and the girl of his dreams.  It was discovered that they slept together in the same bed every night - nine years after she had died.  Also learn about the first millionaire in the United States, the Thanksgiving soda ash mess, the lollipop fight, and the Boston Tar Party.  Retrosponsor: Signal Gasoline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Amala and Kamala, two girls in India that were claimed to have been raised by wolves. Find out the facts of this unusual story. Also learn the original name of the Hawaii 5-O television series, as well as the details of a singing telegram in a courtroom, a man who had no clue that he had stolen a car, and a husband that wanted to be arrested to get away from his nagging wife. Retrosponsor: Owl Rexall Drugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first director of the US Geological Survey, Clarence King, was a famed scientist, explorer, and author. This allowed him to move among the elite of American society in the late 19th century. Yet, few people knew that he spent the last thirteen years leading a secret double life.  Also learn what Martin Cooper was the first person to ever do, a New Zealand explosion hoax, a man killed by his false teeth, and Thomas Blod's silent concert.  Retrosponsor: Fletcher's Castoria. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The death of an elderly man in Chicago in 1941 went initially unnoticed. Then it was learned that he was a French nobleman who gave it all away for the chance to love the woman of his dreams. Find out if he ever got the girl...  Also learn about the only man ever to be the governor of two different US states, Adolph Hitler being drafted, a bug juice mystery, and a good use for rubber finger sheaths.  Retrosponsor: Sinatra singing for Kennedy. (High Hopes with modified lyrics.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After giving birth to a stillborn, Grady the Cow bolted from sight. But there was nowhere for her to go in the small room that she was in. It was then that her owner realized she had somehow gotten her large body through the tiny door to the concrete silo. Tips poured in from all over the world suggesting ways to get her out of there. Find out how they did it.  Also learn how many years the oldest cow lived for, a man who advertised for a homely wife, two mineralogists who came up with a unique way to meet women, and a husband who was forced to return his mail-order bride home.  Retrosponsor: Anchor Hocking Glass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six men died in a Chicago woman's home over three years. Further investigation showed that 47-year-old Margaret Summers had been married six times and all were dead. She had taken out nineteen life insurance policies, all naming her as the sole beneficiary. Summers claimed innocence, but the police thought otherwise.  Also, find out when the first permanent photograph was taken and three different stories of lost cyanide.  Retrosponsor: Tintex fabric dye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Loreen emerged from his subterranean slumber on August 21, 1933, having endured 64 days confined to a coffin. Little did he know, this was merely the kickoff to an eccentric contest of endurance, with participants vying to outlast each other buried underground. Also, find out which breakfast cereal is the most popular, where a New Jersey woman found her stolen watch, why Brownie the cow was not producing enough milk, and the unique way a hit-and-run driver was caught.  Retrosponsor: Fleischmann's Fresh Yeast. https://uselessinformation.org/the-man-buried-alive-podcast-44/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 20, 1961, then-US Vice President Lyndon Johnson was on a goodwill tour of Asia. While pressing the flesh in Karachi, Pakistan, Johnson had a casual conversation with a camel driver named Bashir Ahmad. The next thing you know, Bashir was on his way to the United States in the feel-good news story of 1961.  Also, find out what everyday product Hyman Lipman invented, the Florida councilman frightened by a snake, the New York Aquarium's April Fool problem, and Smell-o-vision.  Retrosponsor: Squibb Dental Creme. https://uselessinformation.org/lyndon-johnsons-camel-driver-podcast-43/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Laiken skipped town to avoid paying alimony in 1928 and was never seen again. His ex-wife Rose learned of a man named Noach (Noah) Goldberg who had died in Vienna. She was certain that Noah was her husband's alias. His wooden leg was all that was needed to make the connection.  Also, learn which Crayola crayon color was changed in 1962, a fake mutiny, the drunken elephant rampage, and a sad death by a falling flower pot.  Retrosponsor: Hallmark Greeting Cards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conrad Cantzen died in 1945 and is long forgotten, but his shoe fund still lives on. Listen to the story of this bizarre provision in this down-on-his-luck actor's handwritten will.  Also, learn which celebrity has earned a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in all five of its categories, the US Postal Service's 1908 Valentine problem, Andrew de Stefano's surprise telegram, and pretty Patsy Puckett's Jaguar mystery.  Retrosponsor: Colgate Tooth Powder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A premature baby born before the 1940s had little chance of survival unless the baby was lucky enough to be part of a popular sideshow exhibit at Coney Island.  Also, learn how the real Jack Daniel died, a man fined one cent for shooting a cow, a color-changing necktie, and a flea map of the United Kingdom that was nearly 60 years in the making.  Retrosponsor: Camel Cigarettes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Albany jeweler Samuel Resnick retired to Phoenix, Arizona, but something went wrong. He ended up paying to have himself murdered. Check out this episode to learn all the details of this oddball story.  Also, learn the original purpose of Formica brand plastic laminate, who owns the air above your head, the details of a costly Halloween egg toss, and a boy who had a seed sprout in his eye.  Retrosponsor: Philco Radio Tubes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1869 discovery of this fossilized giant provided the first definitive proof that giants once did inhabit the Earth. Listen to find out the real facts in the story.  Also, find out which serial killer the Texas House of Representatives honored, a storage building destroyed by popping corn, a Denver woman who swallowed a mouse, and burglars who robbed an anchorman's house.  Retrosponsor: Shell Gasoline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Dennison was sent to prison for stealing $5.00 worth of chocolates back in 1926. He never committed another crime, yet he was still there in 1960. Listen to find out why this happened and how Steve ultimately gained his release.  Also find out which US President was once a male model, the urban parking problem of 1925, two German women who attempted to mail themselves to their boyfriends in the US, and that Richard Nixon was once the nation's best-dressed man.  Retrosponsor: Post Toasties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slavomir Rawich's escape from a Siberian prison camp is among the greatest stories of survival ever. So great that it seems totally unbelievable at times. Also learn which classic TV show began the title of each episode with "The Big", a motorist killed in a freak accident by a horse's hoof, a jet fuel cap that fell from the sky, and the day that the US Secretary of Labor ate his hat. Retrosponsor: The Granite Furniture Company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a while, it seemed like Dumpy the Dog could survive just about anything, but a puppyhood illness came back to haunt him. Be sure to check out this incredible true story.  Also, learn about a common kitchen product invented by Thomas Edison, a woman who was knocked unconscious while her hair was chopped off, a bargain marriage deal in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and a woman who taught her class in her birthday suit.  Retrosponsor: Aunt Jemima. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William Kogut decided to end his life using a deck of ordinary playing cards. That may seem impossible, so listen to this true story from 1930 to learn exactly how he did it. Also find out which popular hairstyle was started by a woman named Barbara Terry, a doctor who dropped dead during surgery, the parking meter mystery, and why you should never request the personalized "NO PLATE" license plate.  Retrosponsor: Energine Shoe White. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ida Mayfield Wood lived as a recluse in the Herald Square Hotel in NYC for 24 years. When she died, 1,103 people claimed to be the heir to her fortune. Eight years later not a single one of them got a penny. Listen to this great story to find out who did.  Also, find out where the geographic center of the United States is located, the guy who married his mother-in-law, the 200 bees that brought the post office to a halt, and a lucky goldfish who survived an earthquake.  Retrosponsor: Teel Liquid Dentifice.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wealthy Ann Cooper Hewitt was sterilized at age 20 by her mother and two doctors, yet did not know that the procedure was being done. Find out how they tricked her into the surgery.  Also, learn about the ten-letter word that your QWERTY keyboard intentionally spells, the guy who blasted out his left cheek while smoking a pipe, a convict who complained to an officer that his wife had run off with another man, and several boys who became trapped in a railroad water tank. Retrosponsor: DeSoto automobiles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices