The strangest stories from Washington, DC history. Hoaxes, scandals, freak accidents, and a few you’ll want to read twice to make sure they’re real.
On November 13th, 1948, Duke and GWU met in a football game that was lopsided to say the least. Duke won by an incredible 62-0 score – read on to learn more about the game!
On August 9, 1964, LBJ called Haggar Apparel to order six pairs of summer slacks. He also complained the last pair was a little tight in the nuts.
Sometimes the story behind the story is almost as sensational as the original news. Learn the amazing tale of Bill O’Leary and how he captured the infamous photo of Marion Barry in handcuffs outside his home in southeast DC.
A wild story from The Washington Post in 1913 about a runaway horse & carriage in Washington DC. Read the full story, plus learn more about George Bowman, the liveryman, and Harry L. McCormick, who rescued the baby.
Learn the colorful story of Morris Connors, a notorious Swampoodle thief and rough, as we explore the lost neighborhood of Swampoodle. We uncovered the article in The Washington Post, printed on October 20th, 1879. Come along on this journey of historical context and facts!
On November 21, 1929, a 500-gallon boiler under the sidewalk at McCrory’s five-and-dime on 7th Street NW exploded at 1:32 in the afternoon, killing six and lifting the concrete forty feet into the air.
Read the tragic story of Levin Ward, a 65-year-old soldier from Tennallytown struck by the Georgetown and Tennallytown Electric Railroad’s Car No. 9. See his 1880 U.S. Census entry and learn why this streetcar was cursed.
In 1954, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie presented a pair of elephant tusks to District leaders in Washington, DC. Now, they have been stolen and the Metropolitan Police Department has asked for help in finding them. See photos and read descriptions of the tusks Selassie gave in other cities.
Read the strange story of the White House Secret Service guard who robbed a Citizens National Bank branch in Laurel in 1981. We came across the article and the sentencing in The Baltimore Sun. Come read this bizarre story from the 1980s!
