The hot summer of 1952 witnessed some bizarre lights floating over the District. Evidently for many nights in July, sightings were reported of up to seven lights flying around the night sky, including over the Capitol...
From the Crazy Vault / 13.10.2016
NSA Allows Homosexual to Stay
When this headline hit the papers in 1980, it was a big deal. A really big deal. Being gay was something that would disqualify you from holding a security clearance. Below are excerpts from the article printed...
This is a bizarre and disappointing article that we dug up in The Washington Post. It was printed on April 2nd, 1977. Montgomery County school officials have learned that a small group of children--six sixth-graders and a third-grader--were...
This is a bizarre piece we found in The Washington Post from July 18th, 1928. And no, we're not talking about that weed. The town fathers of Takoma Park, Md., have declared war on wild guns, wild dogs...
From the Crazy Vault / 20.08.2015
Vietnam-Era Soldier’s Remains Found 30 years Later at 10th and E St. NW
Thanks to a tip from GoDCer John, we did some digging into the story of a soldier who disappeared from Ft. Myer in 1967. A few Google searches later and we came across the story of...
We once had a neighborhood called Herring Hill? True story. It was named for the fish pulled from Rock Creek, which, I don't think are quite as plentiful today. Herring hill was the epicenter of the African-American...
From the Crazy Vault / 02.06.2015
Shots End Alexandria Saloon Brawl
The sub headline for this article was "Walter Bryant Hurls Beer Bottle and Edward Bryant Uses Pistol." Who do you think won that fight? We dug up this wild article in The...
Below is a story we came across from The Washington Post, printed on December 29th, 1924. Remember, this was during the depths of Prohibition, so beer was...
These prohibition stories are always great. This one is from a raid that happened on August 3rd, 1928 at 2106 18th St. NW in Adams Morgan. Today, the building is the home of Casa Oaxaca.
From the Crazy Vault / 05.05.2015
Police Raid Opium Den on 10th St. NW
This is probably a headline we wouldn't see today. We found this in The Washington Post, printed on September 10th, 1894. A big opium joint, which had existed for three months at 425 Tenth street northwest, was raided...
From the Crazy Vault / 29.04.2015
Tragic Potomac Drowning Ends Romance
This is a sad story that we came across in The Washington Postfrom June 29th, 1908. John McCalip, 22 years old, an electrician, at the Senate office building, was drowned yesterday while...
This isn't the measles scare of today's California. This was an article that we dug up in The Washington Post from May 3rd, 1881. For some historical context, a week before Billy the Kid escaped from jail...
The newspapers during the summer of 1894 were full of bizarre stories about a wild man wandering the vicinity of Tennallytown (when was it renamed Tenleytown?). Beginning on July 22nd, sightings of a "half-nude crazy man" were happening...
On November 17th, 1927 a large tornado ripped through the area, destroying over 200 homes in D.C. and 300 structures in Alexandria. Up to 50 people were injured, but we only found one reported death, which...