Oddities in Fact and Fiction From a Bygone Era
A collage of curiosities and oddities includes claims of coal tar colors, a physician Duke Garl Theodore of Bulma who treated 5000 patients in 1893, a vampire sighting in India, city crow nests near Independence Hall, a test on deaf mutes with a firecracker, snail breathing quirks, frost effects on apples and potatoes, travel tips with Bitters tonics, and overviews of books and business education offers from Porter & Anderson in Macon Georgia.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Duke Garl Theodore
Bulma
Pittsburg
New York
Pennsylvania
George Evans
Hoe
Eugene I. Bishop
Cleveland
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
India
Mr. Bishop
Washington Square
Philadelphia
Independence Hall
Chestnut Street
Stuart
San Francisco
Wharton Poem Fragment on Life and Time
A Scribner quotation by Edith Wharton reflects life as a marble block given to all. It contrasts how some carve it into strength and wit while others mold playful works or honor certain figures in Parian marble until nightfall comes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lesbia
Byron
Moreau
California Fig Syrup Co
Tragedy of Sylvia and Sydney in a London drama
Sydney frets over a planned elopement with Sylvia while a doctor warns of heart disease. A visit to her tyrannical father ends in distress as Sylvia taxis toward Aunt Mary and a looming separation. A telegram shifts events as Sylvia falls ill and a family drama unfolds revealing a fatal misunderstanding.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sidney
Lid
Father
Mary
Tom
Keith Jeffaries
Sylvia Buncerr
Keith Jefferies
Harley Street
Sydney
Sylvia
St. James’s Park
Burpett
Dr. Keith-Jeffries
Garden Gate
Paddington
Exeter
Aunt Mary’s
Oll
Words of Wisdom Across Time
A selection of aphorisms from ancient to modern thinkers. Notables include Demosthenes Franklin Emerson Rochebrune Webster Lavater Mill and Byron. The collection treats virtue, self improvement, manners, labor, and time as values shaping character and society.
Publishers Not Omniscient The Odyssey of Great Works
The article recounts how renowned novels and histories endured multiple rejections before finding publishers. It cites Thackeray's Vanity Fair Bradbury Evans Bradbury, Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre at Smith Elder, Carlyle History of the French Revolution, and Motley Rise of the Dutch Republic.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Thackeray
Vanity Fair
Bradbury & Evans
Charlotte Bronte
Messrs. Smith & Elder
Carlyle
Dutch Republic
John Lathrop Motley
New Diphtheria Remedy Trialed in New Zealand
A Chicago Herald report describes a simple diphtheria remedy being tried in New Zealand. The method uses five drops of sulfuric acid in water, given to the child, with additional administration after throat passage clearance and room burning of sulfur.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Zealand
Chicago Herald
Curious extracts and wry quips from a playful era
A collage of brief humorous vignettes and quips from various sources and dates. Includes banter about love letters, social manners, and everyday mischief, featuring snippets about Phyllith Ovah, witty exchanges, and light social satire across multiple period publications.
Prostration Rules and A Wedding Trip Surprise
A dialog from Harper's Bazar features a jailed social quip on nervous prostration and wealth bending a judge’s remark. Next, a humorous exchange reveals a man’s surprise at Mrs. Dimpleton’s quick home makeover and the blunt verdict on taste and responsibility.
Breathing Through the Nose Promotes Health and Comfort
The article argues nose breathing tempers and purifies air before it reaches the lungs, aiding heat and moisture transfer, reducing mucus buildup, and lowering nasal blood pressure. Mouth breathing is depicted as delivering unadjusted air and risking more colds, according to Youth’s Companion.
A Thief Demonstrates Dexterity at Police Station
Dora Donegan, famed for thieving, is arrested but discharged for lack of evidence. She chats with Bailiff Vogel and later returns his missing diamond scarf pin, taunting him that bragging makes him an easy mark. Flora is involved in the exchange.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dora Donegan
Harrison Street
Vogel
Brennan
Justice Foster
Dora
Flora
Donegan
Chicago Inter-Ocean
A Trick of the Trade and Tender Steaks
A Buffalo Express report notes tricks in trades, citing a butcher who watched a guest in a restaurant cut steak with a dull knife. The piece compares hotel standards for tender meats and the impact of knife sharpness on perceived quality. It also mentions Chicago dressed beef shipments doubling in the past decade.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Buffalo
Curious Facts Packed With Oddities From Then And Now
A collage of trivia notes cites Julius Caesar reforming the calendar in 45 B C and Juno as a heavenly queen, while other items claim eel blood poisons like viper venom, Italian rifles through oak at long range, microbes in Mississippi water, and postal letters largely read by English speakers. It mentions Lookout Mountain signs and the Chattanooga Medicine Co lab, advertising Cardus wine for women and Thedford’s Black Draught.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Julius Cwsar
B. C
Masso
Davenport
Mississippi
Lancaster
Lookout Mountain
Lookout Point
The
Chattanooga Medicine Co
MecElree
Unknown Indian Woman Buys Mountain Lands Believed Rich
An unknown Indian woman appeared on Sand Mountain near Island Creek Alabama and quietly bought options on lands in a local mountain range. She claims untold wealth in the hillsides, says the secret was told by her people now in Indian Territory, and that development will begin soon amid legends of silver in the Tennessee river region.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sand Mountain
Island Creek
Ala
Indian Territory
Tennessee River
Also Mentioned on This Page
Oddities IN Fact and Fiction
East St. Louis
Georgia
Judge Longstreet
Atlanta Journal
United States
Porter's Business College
School of Short Hand
Porter & Anderson
Macon
Boston
Central Railroad
Ocean Steamship Commy
Central A. R
Hall
Price Tc
Seaboard Air Line
Norfolk
Old Point Comfort
Atlanta
W Y
Washington
Augusta
Portsmouth
Isaac Thomp
Hood
Asia
Edith Wharton
Scribner
London
Bosh
Goodby
Lord’s
Sylva Burpett
Cartright
Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Mr. Bulpett
Hampstead
Bulpett
Eliot
Mr. Burpett
Darling
Words OF
Demosthenes
Franklin
Richter
Emerson
Tyan Panin
Garfield
Daniel Webster
Rochebrune
Lavater
J. Stuart Mill
Hunter
Cobbett
Phyllith Ovah
Bothton Town
Pwynee Albert
Worth
Phyllith Ovyah
Bat
Slitheth Brown
Wesleyan Literary Monthly
Fliegende Blaetter
Tippie
Bob
Toronto Reporter
Johnnie
Mamma
Philopena
Dawbin
Pather
Inter- Ocean
Washington Star
Him
Todd
New York World
France
St. Helena
Chicago Post
Clara
Italy
Arthur
Gus
New York Weekly
Maloney
Mr. Dolyers
Mr. Trivyet
Jove
Harper’s Bazar
Zwenta
Chicago
Rgvan
WAL Baking Powder NO
Wall ST. NE
Queen Victoria
John Ruskin
Walt Whitman
Charles Kingsley
Julia Ward Howe
J. G. Holland
Cyrus W. Field
Paris
Brighton
Eng
United States Department of Agriculture
B.W. Wrenn
Knoxville
Tenn
Karl
Institut Hool
Finley Lyon
Trountaie City
TREA
Atah Ottorai
GEO. BR
29Th St
Hellas
Greece
Sean
Slapi Ies
U.S
Manly Machine CO
Ao Eastings
Dalton, GA
McElrees
Cardul
Rey
ARTE
Mallary Bros. & CO
Packer
Hay Press
Progress Mf. Co
Hox
Meridian
Miss
Schofield’s Iron Works
Business College
Harrison
Graves
J.W. Rice
Atlanta, Ga
AN. U
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!