Useless Information Podcast

Latest Episodes:

A Christmas Eve Kidnapping - UI Podcast #130 Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

On Christmas Eve of 1937, a man in Centerville, Indiana kidnapped a young boy and his babysitter. Minutes later, the boy's mother and the local grocer were taken prisoner by a second thug. A shootout between the bandit and the boy's father then followed. Find out how it all played out by listening to this great story. Also learn about the first Christmas song broadcast from space, a limit of wine for the Sabbath, a mysterious gift dropped via a parachute, and a family who received a Christmas card from an unknown family annually for seventeen years. Retrosponsor: Campbell's Soup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soul Searching - UI Podcast #129 Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

When miner James Kidd died in 1949, no one could have imagined that it would take more than 21-years to settle his estate. That's because he had made a very unusual request in his will, one that would be nearly impossible to carry out. Also learn about the world's heaviest man, one man's amazing voyage to Mars, a will written on an eggshell, and another man who had distributed small amounts of money to 102 banks all around the world. Retrosponsor: The Spaghetti Store

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Prick of Death - UI Podcast #128 Oct 16, 2019

Show notes

In 1933, a young man was walking through a busy train station in India when he was pricked in the arm by a man walking in the opposite direction. He would soon be dead and the shocking truth as to how and who murdered him was revealed. Also, learn when the sale of color televisions exceeded those of black and white, a man who invented a polarizing material, a man sentenced to prison time for writing fiction, and a mysterious body that washed up on a Chicago shore. Retrosponsor: Minit-Rub

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Case of the Doctor-Doctor Kidnapping - UI Podcast #127 Sep 13, 2019

Show notes

In 1933, a medical doctor and a chiropractic doctor were found severely injured a short distance from one another. The two had never met before, but their lives had somehow violently crossed on that fateful day. Also, learn about artist Bob Ross' original canvases, a milk bottle shortage, men who were in the frigid water too long, and a bookstore that gave 50,000 books away for free. Retrosponsor: Old Dutch Cleanser

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Transcontinental Taxi Ride - UI Podcast #126 Aug 09, 2019

Show notes

An offbeat story from 1966 about a woman requested that a taxicab drive her all the way from Toledo, Ohio to San Francisco, CA. An airplane or train ride would have been both faster and cheaper, yet she insisted on the cab. Also learn how many different shows have been named The Betty White Show, cheap German suits that became available in Great Britain, a man who invented pasties for his wife, and a ban on spike heels in Mobile, Alabama. Retrosponsor: Wheatena Cereal

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Snoring War - UI Podcast #125 Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

A fun story from 1964 in which Brooklyn neighbors Sam Gutwirth and Sam Scheir ended up in court due to Scheir's loud snoring. Also learn about the first bike path in the United States, a building filled with popcorn that spontaneously popped, a woman who swallowed a mouse, and two girls who were trapped in a phone booth together. Retrosponsor: Freezone Corn Remover

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flying Blind - UI Podcast #124 Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

A fantastic story about a Navy pilot who was blinded during a bombing run over North Korea in 1952 and the attempt by another pilot to land him safely. Would he make it? Listen to find out. Also learn about the first network television show to have an episode broadcast in color, the first to successfully pilot an airplane across the Pacific, a man who accidentally landed his airplane on a moving car, and drivers who drove through a man's backyard as a shortcut to get to work. Retrosponsor: Dari-Rich Chocolate Flavored Drink

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Many, Many Murders of Michael Malloy - UI Podcast #123 May 19, 2019

Show notes

Live presentation of one of my favorite stories of all time. Back in 1933, more than thirty attempts were made on the life of a drunk named Michael Malloy. Sounds like fiction, but is totally true.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1st Jewish Couple Married on TV (Part 2) - UI #122 May 05, 2019

Show notes

Part 2 of my interview with cartoonist Leigh Rubin during which we discuss how he got into cartooning and went on to become a successful syndicated cartoonist.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1st Jewish Couple Married on TV (Part 1) - UI #121 Apr 23, 2019

Show notes

Natalie and Stan Rubin were the first Jewish couple ever married on national TV, but it almost never happened. Hear clips from the television show and an interview with their son "Rubes" cartoonist Leigh Rubin. Also learn about the first toilet ever flushed on-screen in a mainstream movie. Retrosponsor: Hudson Paper Napkins

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Useless Information Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected