History has an extraordinary imagination. These true stories are strange enough without embellishment.
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Actual historical events, carefully sourced. The funny headlines are ours; the historical record gets the final word.
1184 · Erfurt, Germany
When nobles gathered for a royal assembly in 1184, the floor gave way. People fell into a latrine pit below; medieval accounts put the death toll around 60, although the exact circumstances and individual causes of death are not certain. A grim reminder to check the floorboards before scheduling a summit.
Read the full file →1910 · United States
Louisiana Representative Robert Broussard promoted importing hippopotamuses to American wetlands, both to tackle invasive water hyacinth and to expand the meat supply. Yes, lawmakers genuinely considered hippo ranching. No, the bill never became law.
Read the full file →1932 · Western Australia
Australian soldiers used Lewis machine guns in a campaign to reduce emus damaging wheat crops. The fast-moving birds made the operation unexpectedly ineffective and the military effort was withdrawn. The “war” nickname is irresistible, but Australia did not formally declare war on emus.
Read the full file →1943 · World War II
British intelligence dressed a dead man as a fictitious officer, equipped him with forged documents, and put his body off the Spanish coast. The deception helped misdirect German forces ahead of the Allied invasion of Sicily. His identity and life deserve recognition, too, not just the ingenuity of the operation.
Read the full file →1888, 1889 & 1977 · Timeline oddities
Jack the Ripper’s notorious London murders occurred in 1888; Nintendo began making Japanese playing cards in 1889, just one year later. And the original Star Wars hit theaters in May 1977, months before France’s final guillotine execution in September 1977. Sometimes history’s overlap is the strangest part.
Read the full file →Original reporting, research and reference materials for the files on this page.