Oddities and Local Anecdotes From 1899
A Noblesville farmer 52 with no teeth and four toothless children plus bizarre incidents across states. A St Louis man dies by his own hand using a whiskey barrel tube. Kentucky cattle sheltering in a tobacco barn die from tobacco ingestion. A Massachusetts farmer sued for sneezing causing a horse to run away. A Pineville barber warns of closing shop to hoe corn. Women burn hair from ceruloid combs. A Warren clock hides $242 in its works. A New England miner loses four inches of a knife blade removed by a doctor after previous stab wounds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Noblesville
Ind
St. Louis
Bourbon County
Massachusetts
Pinevile
Warren
Til
New England
Whittled to a Point and Witty Wordplay
A collection of aphoristic quips on language, leaves, manners, and money attributed to the Chicago News. It lampoons publishers, tree leaves, wealth, and human folly with pithy lines about spelling, absence, virtue, and promises.
Facts and Fancies Says Sailors and Society Collide
A collection of witticisms and observations on manners, luck, work, and marriage. The lines critique sailors worldly fate, patience, patriotism, and the limits of knowledge, with quips about dancers, prize fighters, and heavenly weddings.
Quotations and maxims from Chicago News readers
A collection of pointed aphorisms on honesty leadership and social behavior. The lines mock human vanity government work chances and the idioms of daily life with wry humor and social critique.
Oddities in Print and Global Oddities
A collection of curio notes includes a Tennessee felony for running a crap game, a 50 percent decline in American birds over 15 years, Russian marriage limits, and British ships able to convert to warships in 48 hours. Other items note tobacco for penitentiaries, Parisian paper lace, piano material origins, and tea storage advice.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennessee
Russia
Mississippi
Paris
Points and Moot Points From A Boston Transcript
A collection of aphorisms and quips on wisdom, power, love, and human flaws. The passages contrast idealism with self interest, note the cruelty of oppression, and end with a sharp retort about trust and deceit in romance.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boston Transcript
Prudence the Pilgrim Girl Remembered in Verse
A nostalgic poem recalls Prudence, a demure girl from Pilgrim stock with blue eyes and plain dress. The speaker remembers her quiet grace, her fading smile, and now her spirit looking down from distant, fairer lands.
Needle Floats on Water Despite Metal Form
An accepted theory states a solid metal body cannot float. A dry needle placed on water may seem to float like wood if the surface tension supports it, illustrating capillary effects and moisture conditions.
Floating the Needle Demonstration on Water
A method shows how a needle can float on water using two loops of thread or fork prongs, or a cigarette paper saturated and placed on the water. The paper sinks but the needle stays afloat, demonstrating surface tension and buoyancy in a simple experiment.
Morals of Bird and Beast on Petty Rivalries
An old anecdote contrasts animal behavior and human appetite for sharing. Sparrows kill a painted mate and argue over plumage while horses and cows show communal eating traits, dogs announce meals, and cats act selfishly, illustrating differing social instincts.
Roosters and Cockfights Dominate Philippine Streets
Native Filipinos prize fighting cocks, rearing them with care and entering them into cockpits. Cockfights occur weekly with improvised venues, crowds, and vendors outside, as families escort roosters and spectators watch the contests.
A Clever Bantam Tricks and Feats Impress Family
Dan Parshall trains a bantam in Chicago to perform drawing room tricks. The bird lies on a tumbler, plays dead, returns on command, catches flies, jumps a rope, climbs a toy ladder, and wire walks. It even balances upside down like a hat atop Edith Parshall’s head.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dan Parshall
Edith Parshall
Chicago
Edith
Engagement Sparks Talk of Enterprise in Small Town
A publisheric exchange notes admiration for business enterprise. A young couple, Rushman and Miss Sparks, are described as engaged after only two months of courtship, highlighting rapid romantic progress in a provincial setting.
Footbound nickname stirs schoolyard pride in Detroit
In a playful exchange, a boy named Corns explains classmates nickname him because he is always at the foot in class. The Detroit Free Press captures the lighthearted moment reflecting schoolyard humor.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Detroit Free Press
One on Him. Mr. Crimsonbeak and the Cabbage Smell
Yonkers Statesman notes a domestic scene where Mr. Crimsonbeak complains of a strong cabbage odor in the house while Mrs. Crimsenbeak explains they are boiling lace curtains to remove tobacco smell.
A Changed Opinion
Mrs Crimsonbeak recalls telling her husband she liked Grosser for his grit but notes the change after Grosser began selling sugar. The Yonkers Statesman conveys the wry exchange between the couple.
One of the Things She Does
A description notes how a woman’s actions with a man’s money can chill him as she pockets the funds then carries the purse loosely and leaves it at the first counter she reaches per the Atchison Globe.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atchison Globe
Pitteburg
The Result of Haste
A city editor comments on a hat while the court reporter muses in haste, in a playful Indianapolis Journal exchange. The brief dialogue highlights quick judgments and light newsroom banter.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Indianapolis Journal
Dudley Dorr’s Remarkable Toy Collection Impresses East Boston
A fourteen year old boy, Dudley H. Dorr, houses the most original toy collection on record in East Boston. His father enjoys buying him unique playthings, including a summer house fashioned from a horse-car and a miniature ferry system modeled on Boston’s ferry department.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dudley H. Dorr
Boston
Dudley
Odd Facts From History and Geography
A collection notes Holland as the only European country with duty free coffee and details on Danish dykes, Paris toy soldiers from discarded tins, multiple old Delhis in India, tobacco spread from 1499 to 1583, burial customs in parts of Africa, corks with air vents for medicine bottles, the Swedish mile as the world’s longest, and a traveler’s 11 700 yard caution about tying a horse for distant travel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Holland
Europe
Denmark
Paris
India
Delhis
San Domingo
Yucatan
France
England
Africa
Reflections of a Bachelor observation piece
A humorous prose fragment on romance and flirtation contrasts women's attention with pets and cigars. It jokes that a man risks courting a woman who refuses him repeatedly and notes aging men and financial patterns as commentary on relationships.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Methuselah
Blasts From Raw's Horn Sermonizing Reflections
A reflective religious banner sermon urges action over apathy in church life. It warns against infidelity and cruelty, notes competition harms spirituality, and calls for inner renewal to replace mere leaf turning with a new life.
Toy lunch wagon and miniature transport devices on display
A perfectly equipped night lunch wagon six feet long with a full kitchen set, white and gold decoration, stained glass, drawn by a Shetland pony. Also shown are a tiny railroad station with trains, models of steamships, ice-wagons and perambulators.
Spelling Game for Boys and Girls with Prize and Booby Prize
A spelling game in which words are written on slips with definitions. Players spell aloud, pass the slip to the next, and missteps lead to the word being placed aside. The starter begins, rounds loop, and the best speller wins a prize while the worst gets a wooden spoon.
Devious Definitions and Daily Snubs From the Chicago News
A collection of satirical dictionary-style definitions contrasts pensions wartime gains with cynicism and common terms. It mocks pensions as a war aftertaste and labels officials as salary drawers who do little work, while praising honesty and heroism in restrained terms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago News
Child laments mammas gossip and tells father
Six year old Walter tells his sister that mamma is an awful gossip. He says she runs and tells papa about everything he does. The exchange highlights tensions over parental awareness and家庭 gossip dynamics.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Walter
Incompatible Mr Dukane and Wife Change of Physicians
Mr. Dukane asks why his wife changed doctors while Mrs. Gaswell explains she was satisfied with professional skill but objected to the other physician's defense of his favorite Pittsburg Chronicle Telegraph.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mr. Dukane
Quote exchange on drinking and sober reflection
A humorous exchange contrasts a heavy night of drinking with the morning after. Tagleigh remarks on a man staring into the mirror while sober reflection sets in, and Wagleigh agrees that moment prompts contemplation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tagleigh
Wagleigh
Foreman rushes to machinist as motor falters
The Irish foreman, agitated, hurries to the machinist and reports a rapidly stopping motor, prompting concern aboard the facility as urgency spreads.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia
Sympathetic Visitor Probes Prisoner on Borrowed Money
A listener asks what brought the man to prison while the prisoner jokes about lending. The exchange captures a facetious tone and the theme of debt and confinement in a Pick-Me-Up fragment.
Fragmentary Note on Gas Supply and Arrival
A terse, unclear fragment discusses someone asking to be called early as the gas runs low and the writer expects to arrive soon. It mentions a father turning the gas off at 10 and a struggle with gas supply.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ile
Opinions of a Pessimist Contemplate Virtue and Charity
The piece argues that vanity hides flaws, honest fault finding arrives late to influence elections, and strategy surpasses brute effort in life battles. It asserts polish may erase grain as with wood and cautions that hollow philanthropy gains no credit, while true charity is love for your fellow man.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cleveland
Words of Wisdom from a Chicago Column
A terse Chicago style column riffs on busy lives and folly. It jokes that luck can vanish like a lift shaft fall and that many sins are attractive yet hard to quit. It notes bachelor logic, mother-in-law tensions, and the lure of vacations versus gas meters.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago News
Widow and insurer clerk clash over life claim
A widow seeking her late husband’s life insurance payment faces a clerk who sympathetically expresses sorrow. She retorts that men are all the same, always pitying a poor woman who gains a bit of money.
Vessel Launches Kept Pure Water Christenings Declared
In a humorous exchange from the New York Weekly, a temperance man notes a recent vessel launch used pure water for the christening instead of wine. Old Salt agrees, declaring he will stop wasting good liquor on such foolishness.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Weekly
Oculist’s Color Blind Test Ends With a Fool’s Mistake
An oculist recounts testing a railroad president for color blindness. He reveals colors to prove the boss is color blind himself, risking his job after the president mistakes red for green. The tale ends with advice to lie or stay silent in such bluffing exchanges.
Getting a Cinch on Him
A Chicago Post item quotes an old man claiming he will force a marriage proposal by tricking a young man. The father says he asked for fifty dollars to test the suitor and earned the outcome, hoping to push him to the point soon.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Post
The Gentleman How's This Last Week It Was The Right Leg
A dialogue fragment features a speaker asking about a lost leg and another replying that a fellow cannot stand all week on one leg. The exchange underscores resilience and endurance in a terse repartee.
Picture request sparks a clash at back door
A Yonkers Statesman snippet shows a woman scolding a tramp for begging. The wanderer denies begging for money or bread, saying he only seeks one of the lady's pictures. The exchange plays on social manners and poverty.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yonkers Statesman
The Mean Thing And Too Many Already Bits
Dialogue exchanges reveal domestic life and social bets in Yonkers. A nickel in the slot machine joke about love versus dyspepsia appears, while a young man declines a marriage proposal to a smoker, citing current cigarette requests.
An Exceptional Man Diggs
Diggs praises Simkins memory noting he never leaves his umbrella anywhere while Biggs questions why he is so sure and Diggs smiles at the remark about a simple habit.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Diggs
Quick Non Sequitur and Still More Curious Facts
A lively miscellany notes jokes on widowers and widows, a claim about nails to Japan, Paris opera house size, electric chair in Massachusetts, and a Siamese king bodyguard. It lists London lodging, English youth ages, Britain's volunteer cost, Oxford bell-ringers, and safe-like boards for showy safes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Japan
Opera
Paris
Massachusetts
Bedford
London
England
Wales
Great Britain
Siam
Oxford
Exeter
Devon
No Remission on Sin and Earnest Journey Toward Truth
A meditation on moral descent and the unyielding burden of lost truth. The speaker insists that remission cannot be granted and only time, effort, and a disciplined ascent back to virtue restore the soul. Tears cannot wipe stains. remorse follows a long, solitary path.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
God
Have Faith in the Boy Poem Excerpt
A poem urges perseverance and faith in a wayward boy. The speaker counsels daily patience guidance and belief that a prodigal son can reform. Refrains emphasize rejecting despair and recognizing potential goodness hidden within a troubled youth.
There Is No Kingdom But Your Heart
A poetic line extols the beloved as sovereign of the heart, laurel, and praise with the rose serving as a matching emblem. The speaker declares the beloved as the sole delight of all days.
Winter and city contrast in somber prose with storm
The poemlike prose shifts from snowy rural melancholy to a city scene. A heavy cart moans along cobbled streets signaling privation and distress as storm and night intensify the sense of life and death.
Lead Thou Me On Poem Fragment by Eliwood Roberts
A reflective verse fragment urging humble guidance and steady progress through darkness. The speaker laments wasted youth and time, contrasts past pride with current longing for simple direction, and notes the value of time given by the Infinite.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eliwood Roberts
Cling to life through the cheerful idiot says journal
A witty exchange from the Indianapolis Journal frames life as a stubborn constant. A youthful boarder asks why we cling to life and is told it is because we are stuck on it, delivered in a lighthearted voice.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Indianapolis Journal
Dust of Buddha Relic Sparks Asia Wide Interest
Reports from India say the British have presented the king of Siam with Buddha dust found in a shrine at Nepal. Buddha died in Gaya with disputed death date. Relics, including an eyetooth in Ceylon, are scattered across Asia in India, China, Japan, Siam, and the East Indies.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Buddha
India
British Ent
Siam
Nepaul
Gaya
Ganges
Asia
Christ
Europe
China
Japan
East Indies
Ceylon
Hair from jack jack trees sparks regional interest
J W Roach recently returned from Madison county with a sample of hair described as finer than human hair, jet black and straight. Found on Dr G W Westbrooks land near Ila, the material could weave into cloth or fill cushions and collars, potentially making Westbrooks a notable owner as development proceeds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
J. W. Roach
Madison County
Brother Hairston
The
Free Press
G. W. Westbrooks
Ila
Century offers grand prospects for youths entering world
The speaker praises the present era as full of duties and rewards for young men. He notes the nation’s environment educates and motivates, with opportunities from farming to war and large profits for those who begin as infants or prove themselves as young adults. The twentieth century promises something for all.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chauncey M. Depew
Ainslie’s
Why Yohn Stays In the Klondike
An elderly Dane from San Francisco speaks of endless marches and the lure of gold in Frederick Palmer's A Winter Journey to the Klondike. He recalls stubborn endurance, superstition about luck, and frequent longing for home despite fortunes found.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yohn
Klondike
San Francisco
The
Frederick Palmer
Scribner’s
Philippine law favors wives over husbands in marriage property
The document notes that in the Philippines the marital property regime benefits the wife. A wife retains her maiden name and adds her husband's with a de prefix, while children bear both parents' names. After death, without a spousal deed, property passes to children and relatives, not the husband.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philippines
Sardinia Brigandage Surges as Schoolmaster Is Ousted
King Humbert plans a Sardinia tour as police intensify efforts to wipe out brigandage. The latest twist sees Nuovo's only school closed after a schoolmaster, suspected of aiding police, is removed and notices posted urging parents not to send children to class.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Humbert
Sardinia
Nuovo
A Man of Mystery, Detroit Tobacco Magnate Daniel Scotten
The Detroit Journal describes Daniel Scotten as a man who paid millions in wages and supported public institutions, careful with small sums yet not ostentatiously generous. He was not a recluse, but his private character remained a sealed mask to even his closest friends.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
Detroit Journal
Daniel Scotten
Broad way street car conductor noted for height and reach
A New York Broadway street car conductor is described as six feet two inches tall with a remarkable reach. His outstretched arms span eighty inches, six inches longer than his height, aiding him in collecting fares from crowded cars. A tangential joke from the Philadelphia Call recalls a Sunday school exchange about rewards for good and bad behavior.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Willie
Philadelphia
Miss Peachblow Marriage Questioned by Mrs Moneybagges
In Kansas City the Miss Peachblow question meets Mrs Moneybagges who says the marriage was not love at first sight but born of second thought. The exchange appears in the Kansas City Independent.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Miss Peachblow
Yeast and Crimsonbeak discuss infant in Yonkers
The Yonkers Statesman reports a playful exchange about a baby named Toodles, noting the child's resemblance to her mother and a remark about her beginning to speak. The dialogue features Yeast and Crimsonbeak in a lighthearted local item.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yonkers Statesman
Also Mentioned on This Page
Warren Mail
Warren, PA
Queer ‘Happenings
Caletori.s
Prue
Prudence
My Little Prue
Plymouth Rock
Bonny Little
Philippine
Ai Tm Toi
Raw’s
Words OF
Tom
Jack
Alec
Chicago Record
GEMS
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Elmira
Earth
Cardinal Newman
Jimmy
New York Journal
Penelope
Marie
Brooklyn
Man of
Mystery
Fraulein
Unsere Gesellschaft
Orpion
Dr. Pierce
Pierce
Common Sense
Dispensary Medical Association
Buffalo
aZar
N. Greenland
Erie
Aga In
Cincinnati St. Louis
East
West
F. H. Garfield
Div Pas
Jamestown, N. V
Newa
Happy Hannah
McKintey Music Co
Wasagh Av
Onica
Firth AV
the Mail Office
W. H. Druen
U.S. Pension Claim Atty
Newindy
Pennsylvania
Sheffield
Harrisburg
Pullman
Philadelingers
Sunbury
Lancaster
Baltimore
Washington
Williamsport
Kane
Willport
J. B. Hutchinson
J. BR. Wood
Gen’l
Avent
Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley & Pittsburgh Railroad
New York Central
Hudson River R. R. Co. Lessee
Sun
Svosesses
IVY
Niagara Falls
Seresenseee
Bumbio
e+ Dunkirk
Pas Fredonia
Falconer Junct
Eccere Ffewsdufe
Eveosers Poveaiagt
Fentonville
Youngsville
Titusville
City
Dunkirk
Falconer
W. Bartlett
Dun Ry x Bee
Gro
H. Daniels
New York City
Offet
Frans
Hiseren
Manca
Olean
Pittsburg
Ex Way
Warren Tice
Brisbane
Buffalo N. Y
Tionesta Valley Railroad
Sheffield Junction
Lamona
Shef
Lamons
Crea
Ren
EMAIL
Philadelphia Weekly Press
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