Useless Information Podcast

Edna Kirby spent more than a decade in Hollywood appearing in silent movies for Paramount Studios. While she never became a movie star, Edna drew large crowds in nearly every town that she visited. That’s because Edna Kirby lived in a glass house. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, my wife Mary Jane joins me to review the classic movie "Sunset Boulevard." Directed by Billy Wilder, this movie tells the story of a struggling screenwriter who gets into a dangerous relationship with a faded Hollywood actress who dreams of a big comeback.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas episode! A reindeer that bit a boy’s finger, a lawsuit over the world’s largest Christmas stocking, an absent-minded Santa Claus, a Santa caught with his pants down, the first Christmas film ever made, and much more! Retrosponsor: Dole Pineapple Juice and Gems Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom McGee wanted nothing more for Christmas than to be able to spend time caring for his hogs. The only catch was that he needed to commit a crime and hope that a judge would sentence him to time on one of Georgia’s infamous chain gangs. A true story that took place in Atlanta from 1928 through 1930. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode: A proud father who kidnapped his newborn daughter, a mother jailed for cooking a woodpecker, Einstein gives a student incorrect math advice, a snake that joined a woman in the bathtub, a filmstrip projector demonstrated for the first time, and much more! Retrosponsor: Log Cabin Syrup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A New Jersey man was caught in a Catch-22 situation. As long as he remained on death row, he could live. If he attempted to get off of death row by challenging his sentence in court, he would likely die. Can you guess which option he chose? A true story that began in 1908. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode: The day corsets were arrested, a lingerie auction at the University of Nebraska, US Customs bans Alice Cooper’s panties, a woman hurt in a freak accident, a fish who milked a cow, woman entertains friends while husband robs their homes, a box of cookies that started a fire, a man who accidentally robbed a bank, & the highest-paid act at Woodstock. Retrosponsor: Sears advertisement...

In 1911, Mrs. Minerva Miller and two friends went to The Paterson Show in Paterson, NJ to watch a movie. A standard ticket cost 5 cents, but Mrs. Miller was told that she would have to pay 25 cents because she was black. Minerva Miller decided to challenge the theater's racist policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 72-year-old woman who married a 20-year-old man, a 16-year-old girl arrested for cursing, a woman who had some run-ins with modern appliances, speaking English deforms the mouth, a husband who refused to buy his wife false teeth, a "Dammed Missouri" book that disappeared in a flood, and more! Retrosponsor: Rinso Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1941, 5-year-old Pamela Hollingworth disappeared into the dense forest of New Hampshire's White Mountains. In what became the largest search and rescue effort in New England to that date, more than 1,500 men spent more than a week looking for her. Was she murdered, kidnapped, or something else? Find out what really happened to Pamela Hollingworth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Retrocast #2: Boy runs away because he can·t master Latin, a mother who loaned her son to a stranger, a man who survived a Nazi firing squad, cows killed by lightning, man's leg broken three times, truth in business inboxes, 200 hog call records stolen, a helicopter melon thief, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1932, Redondo Beach school superintendent Elliott B. Thomas mysteriously disappeared and his office was ransacked. Was he kidnapped? Could he have been killed? Or was something else going on? Also, learn about a new chemical element called Administratium. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retrocast #1 - A 106-year-old woman seeks a husband, 5 phonograph records is admission to a dance, Australia gives the US an albino kangaroo, Johnny Cash promoting the Home Equipment Co., A country could be 49th US state, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1933, Helen Vasko was diagnosed with a malignant eye tumor that threatened her life. Her parents would not consent to surgery and the case ended up in court. It was a battle between parental vs. state rights and which side should have the ultimate deciding power. This fascinating story examines both sides of the case and the landmark ruling that was ultimately made. Learn more about your ad cho...

When Isabel McHie was pulled off of a train in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1935, she confirmed to the world that she truly was eccentric. It was a reputation that continued long after she died. Also, learn about a 1907 promotion that instructed housewives to wink at their grocer, a will written on a petticoat, another will penned on the rung of a ladder, and a woman of little means who left it all t...

In this episode, my wife Mary Jane joins me to review the classic movie "The Hitch-Hiker." Directed by Ida Lupino, this movie was inspired by the crimes of mass murderer Billy Cook, which was told in podcast #148 titled "Badman Billy Cook." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a killer on the road. The mostly forgotten true story of the manhunt for mass murderer Billy Cook in 1951. His crime spree was the inspiration for a verse in one of rock's most classic songs. Also learn about a teacher forced to resign because she had married, a doctor that kept his marriage a secret for 12 years, and a couple who secretly married to avoid all of the fuss. Retrosponsor: Tu...

In this episode, I make an important announcement about the future of the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The diphtheria vaccine saved many lives until children started dying from it back in 1901. One could say that it was all the fault of a horse named Jim. Also, learn about the invention of spray paint cans, the time that Teddy Roosevelt declared war on banana peels, birth control leases, and a ticking tapioca time bomb. Retrosponsor: Manischewitz Matzos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

In 1919, Chicago doctor Justin L. Mitchell forcefully kissed nurse Mathilde Benkhardt without her permission. She challenged him in court and the outcome may have ruined him for the rest of his life. Also, learn about the original title of the song Midnight Train to Georgia, an attempt to double one's money by boiling it, two female clowns that crashed the circus ring, and a joke that involved a l...

In this episode, my wife Mary Jane joins me to review the classic movie "The Best Years of Our Lives." Released in 1946, the movie won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Movie, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1930, Michael Filosa killed his half-brother Salvatore De Hall while he was sleep-walking. He also slashed his mother Anna De Hall and half-sister Catherine. Could he have really done such a thing? Also learn about the name of the famous final Jeopardy tune, Chrysler's Hi-Way Hi-Fi system, Goodyear's colorful translucent tires, and the Wrist-Twist Instant Steering system. Retrosponsor: Hormel S...

The heartwarming true story from the 1950s of a secret Santa and the generous Christmas gifts that he gave to Helen Arnold's family in Akron, Ohio. Also, learn about the real name for a Hanukkah menorah, a guy who received 4-tons of manure for Christmas, a Santa who got stuck in a chimney, and a Santa who was saved from a ticket by children. Retrosponsor: Duz laundry soap. Learn more about your ad...

Bette Cooper never dreamed of winning a beauty pageant and was shocked when she won the 1937 Miss America title. Within hours, Bette had disappeared. Where could she have gone? Also learn the history of the Miss America theme song, the youngest Miss America ever, about a beautiful legs contest held in Fort Worth, the World Posture Queen, and the Most Beautiful Ape in the World. Learn more about yo...

Part 2 of this story discusses Richarda "Dikki" Morrow-Tait's trip from Alaska back to London in her 1938 effort to become the first woman to pilot an airplane around the world. Would she make it? Also learn about the world's largest building by volume, that it's legal to fly airplanes in Philadelphia on Sunday, a pilotless plane in Australia, and a submarine rodeo. Retrosponsor: TWA Airline. Lear...