From the ChicacgoNow.com CTA Tattler blog comes this story about not wearing pants in public, this Sunday January 8, 2012. Continue reading
Almost everyone in the United States who was living on November 22, 1963 can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the shocking news that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
That is everyone except Richard Nixon.
Forget the conspiracy theories and all the other unsolvable aspects of the JFK assassination. Nixon’s supposed amnesia of that day is one of the oddest stories related to the assassination.
When I say everyone remembers where they were, I mean everyone. If you think I am mistaken about this, ask anyone who is over the age of 55, and you shall see this is no exaggeration. Continue reading
85 Years Since Houdini’s Death & Yet No Word From Harry From the Great Beyond
Houdini film still “The Grim Game” 1919
During the early 20th century perhaps no person was more famous than Harry Houdini.
Houdini about to be tossed into the water handcuffed and shackled
The master magician and escape artist had a variety of careers besides performing on the stage and in grand public spectacles. Houdini said he was not really a magician but a mystifier. He was the “King of Cards” as a master card manipulator, the “King of Cuffs” as he could escape from any locked device -many times under perilous circumstances; he was a best selling author; lecturer; film star; pioneer aviator and most conspicuously and heroically a spiritual debunker.
Houdini standing beside his mother’s grave 1914
When Houdini’s beloved mother Cecilia passed away in 1913, he was devastated. He briefly considered suicide. Continue reading
In 1896 you could die at a moment’s notice. There were no antibiotics. Doctors and scientists were slowly discovering how diseases were spread. Then, as now, the medical and scientific community gets stymied.
For instance, imagine hundreds of people sharing a glass or cup to drink from a public place where healthy and sick people alike could spread their germs. Yes, people actually did that. And in the U.S. thousands every year got sick or died from that practice. The impetus to invent a disposable cup – to stop spreading disease via communal drinking apparatus led to the Dixie Cup which came on the market in 1907.
But in 1896, before West Nile Virus or Ebola Virus was discovered, something strange and horrible occurred Continue reading
Why Are Ghost Videos Always Poor Quality?
If you are going to record paranormal activity you should remember three things:
1- Have good video equipment, preferably with a good lighting system.
2- Don’t run away if you encounter something strange.
3- Don’t scream.
It always seems that people who claim to have video proof of ghosts, always have poor evidence. Continue reading
This news photograph is captioned “Doberman tends bar, operates cash register.” June 10, 1947.
Somehow I don’t think the animal rights groups would allow this today, let alone the department of health. Though I’ll bet he was a good listener. Continue reading
Who is this gentleman? No it is not a sketch from Monty Python, such as a man with a tape recorder up his nose. Continue reading
There is a book called Woodlawn Remembers: Cemetery of American History by Edward F. Bergman (North County Books, 1988.) The book is mostly comprised of beautiful full page color and black & white photographs of monuments, tombstones and mausoleums with one page of text describing each person profiled. The cemetery is located in the northern part of the Bronx. Woodlawn is on my shortlist of recommendations of unusual places to go for New York visitors.
The book is fascinating to be sure. It covers many of the interesting and important historical figures at Woodlawn. 
But one story not mentioned, is the life and death of George Spencer Millet (misspelled as George Millitt by The New York Times in the story at the end of this article) who is interred at the cemetery.
Millet’s story is briefly recounted in Permanent New Yorkers A Biographical Guide To The Cemeteries of New York by Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall (Chelsea Green 1987.) This book contains photographs too, but has more detailed biographies than Woodlawn Remembers. Permanent New Yorkers also covers the entire New York area, not just focusing on the two most famous New York City cemeteries. Woodlawn and Greenwood. I highly recommend both of these out-of-print books.
It was February 15, 1909 and Millet was a good-looking boy. Because when the girls he worked with at The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company found out that it was his 15th birthday, they all insisted on giving him a kiss. Continue reading
People Believing In Strange Things
Maybe you’ve seen these people?
The New York Times front page story on the people who believe in Harold Camping’s prophecy about the return of Jesus on May 21 and the end of the world on October 21, points out that the children of these doomsayers are somewhat confused by their parent’s strange beliefs.
The idea of knowing doomsday’s arrival by interpreting or unlocking the secrets of sacred text has been around for a while.
The Times has a second story about a New Yorker who gathered about a dozen believers to prepare for the end of the world in 1925.
The United States has quite a history of biblical Doomsday prophets. A very notable occurrence happened Continue reading
What is in the sky in this photograph?
Is this one of the earliest UFO photographs?
Catalina Island Circa 1900
I saw this magic lantern slide photograph for sale on eBay about 5 years ago and thought it was interesting enough to copy on to my computer, but not to bid on. It was identified as Santa Catalina Island at the turn-of-the-century and that was pretty much all there was to the description. The person selling it did mention there is a strange object in the photograph.
There certainly is.
First I do believe there are UFO’s. But let’s be clear – Unidentified Flying Objects. Not necessarily spacemen from other galaxies or strange visitors from other planets in flying saucers. I won’t eliminate the possibility, but I need better evidence.
There definitely is something in the right hand corner of the photo. For some strange reason I do not believe this photo is a hoax. It appears to be in the air. But, is it flying? Is it a blemish to the photo itself? Is it a reflection? Somebody threw their hat in the air? A cloud? Sunspot? Optical illusion? Or is it some sort of saucer-like spacecraft? Click on the photo and then click again to get an enlarged closer view.
Larger Image of Catalina Island UFO
I checked the newspaper archives from the Los Angeles Times from 1890-1915 and can find no mention of this event on Catalina Island where the photograph was supposedly taken. Continue reading