Albany jeweler Samuel Resnick retired to Phoenix, Arizona, but something went wrong.  He ended up paying to have himself murdered.  Check out this podcast to find out all the details in 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 that had a seed sprout in his eye.  Retrosponsor: Philco Radio Tubes.

 

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 that swallowed a mouse, and burglars that robbed an anchorman's house.  Retrosponsor: Shell Gasoline.

 

 

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 how this happened and how Steve ultimately gained release.  Also find out which US President was once a male model, the urban parking problem of 1925, two German women that 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.

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.

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.

William Kogut decided to end his life using a deck of ordinary playing cards.  Learn how he managed to do so in this fascinating true story.   Also find out which popular hair style was started by a woman named Barbara Terry, a doctor that dropped dead during surgery, the parking meter mystery, and why you should never request the personalized "NO PLATE" license plate.   Retrosponsor: Energine Shoe White.

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 that married his mother-in-law, the 200 bees that brought the post office to a halt, and a lucky goldfish that survived an earthquake.  Retrosponsor:  Teel Liquid Dentifice. 

 

Wealthy Ann Cooper Hewitt was sterilized at age 20 by her mother and two doctors, yet had no knowledge that the procedure was being done.  Find out how they tricked her into the surgery.  Also find out about the ten letter word that your QWERTY keyboard intentionally spells, the guy that blasted his left cheek while smoking his pipe, an unlucky bigamist, and a boy's narrow escape from a railroad water tank.  Retrosponsor: Desoto - Plymouth automobiles.

The Phantom Sniper terrorized women of the Los Angeles area in the early 1950's.  He was captured because of one minor mistake that most people would have easily overlooked.  Also find out the number of minutes spent playing football in an NFL football game, the fantastic world of Venus, the FBI diaper problem, and J. Paul Getty's pay phone.  Retrosponsor: Duz Laundry Soap.

Long forgotten story about the strange kidnapping of Milly McGill back in 1945.  It is what happened after Milly was returned back to her parents that is the oddest part of this true story. Also learn what a Blue Moon really is, how a wooden leg saved a man's life, a boy that could not pronounce the letter F, and a boy who drove to pickup his sweetie in his dad's car.  Retrosponsor: Postum Coffee Substitute.