A Christmas Eve celebration for the children of Calumet, Michigan turned into a death trap.  Listen to find out the details of this tragic story.  Also learn about Mary Anderson's invention, a Christmas watermelon miracle, Chinese Christmas cards, and IBM computer punch card wreaths.  Retrosponsor: Ex-Lax.

Can you imagine Thanksgiving without cranberries?  That actually happened in 1959 when cooks across America tossed out all of their cranberry products.  Learn about the Interrobang!? punctuation mark, a 7-story elevator plunge, a unlucky winning poker player, and a strange sequence of Friday the 13th events.  Retrosponsor: Edsel

Eleven circus elephants died from arsenic poisoning within a one-week period.  The search for the murderer was on...  Also learn about 1936's best student essay on peace, the 12-year-old that shot his principal, and the mob that went wild when the police cancelled a men's club show.  Also find out where Adolf Hitler was originally from.  Retrosponsor: Clipper Craft clothes.

Almost unbelievable true story of Clement Molway and Louis Berrett who were both on trial for murder in 1934. Twelve eyewitnesses testified that they were the men that committed the crime.  They were within hours of facing the death penalty.  Then the real criminals showed up...  Also learn about the fourth Rice Krispie elf, two boys run over by a locomotive, a fortune hidden in a wall, and an escaped tiger. Retrosponsor: Grape Nuts.

Fascinating true story of three Milwaukee men that started bombing Milwaukee Sears stores in an effort to obtain $100,000 and escape in their homemade submarine.  Also learn what first the 1925 movie "The Lost World" accomplished, the parrot that committed suicide, death by seasickness, and a very unusual fishing catch.  Retrosponsor: Brylcreem.

Long forgotten story about the sensational kidnapping of Caleb Milne IV back in 1935.  Also learn the first #1 on Billboard's album chart, fake radio messages from Europe, two men that died during a fake bank robbery, and the $100 front page publicity stunt.  Retrosponsor: Sal Hepatica laxative.

The residents of Palomares in Spain are still dealing with the effects of the four hydrogen bombs accidentally dropped on this small fishing village back in 1966.  Also learn about Norman Brinker's important contribution to the restaurant industry, the nude newsboy, a postal clerk lost at sea, and an award that was better late than never by 40 years.  Retrosponsor: Klean Soap.

Incredible true story of two Polish doctors that used the microbe Proteus OX19 to create a pseudo typhus epidemic, which saved the lives of over 8,000 people.  Also learn which US president was first to appear on a circulating coin, the "doctor" who convinced women in NYC to disrobe before robbing them, the ashman that inherited a fortune, and two brothers that tried to teach in the same religious school.  Retrosponsor: Milk of Magnesia Facial Cremes. 

Jackie Robinson is best remembered for being the first African American to play for one of the Major League baseball teams, but his 1944 court martial for his refusal to "go to the back of the bus" nearly derailed his career. 

Also find out about the first UPC barcode, a trained squirrel, the world's longest beard, and twins marrying twins.  Listen to the first singing radio commercial - one that saved Wheaties from extinction.

The true, grueling story about the US Army's 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps that cycled their way across the country to demonstrate a unique method of troop transportation.   Also learn about Cecil Rhodes, notched wedding rings, a giant whale, and alligators in sewer pipes.  Also hear a classic commercial for Swan Soap from the Burns & Allen radio show.