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Strange But True

Strange but true stories from anywhere and any era: history that sounds invented, animals that should not work, court cases nobody believes, and the facts underneath all of it.

Nothing here is an urban legend. Every story names the source it came from and links it, so you can go and check it yourself. 65 stories so far, and more every week.

Growing Dinner On Fields: The Farm Reality That Breaks My Brain

Growing Dinner On Fields: The Farm Reality That Breaks My Brain

Hold on, someone actually divides a plot into perfect circles and carves it into wedge-shaped sections.…

1 month ago
Seven Hours of Sovereignty: The Republic That Crashed Overnight

Seven Hours of Sovereignty: The Republic That Crashed Overnight

A country was officially declared for exactly seven hours, and then the army walked in to…

2 months ago
Spies Dug Soviet Garbage Until Handlers Wanted Limbs

Spies Dug Soviet Garbage Until Handlers Wanted Limbs

Spies for the US, UK, and France dug through Soviet garbage cans until their bosses told…

2 months ago
Three Armies, One Uniform: The WWII Soldier History Can’t Prove

Three Armies, One Uniform: The WWII Soldier History Can’t Prove

Wait, wait, wait — a man supposedly wore three enemy uniforms during World War II, even…

2 months ago
The research board deemed the concept wildly impractical, yet they still allocated 25,000 dollars to keep the trials run

The research board deemed the concept wildly impractical, yet they still allocated 25,000 dollars to keep the trials running.

Hold up the timeline — because a behaviorist actually designed a system where trained birds used…

2 months ago
A Baboon Made Corporal In The Great War, And The Paperwork Stumps Me

A Baboon Made Corporal In The Great War, And The Paperwork Stumps Me

A baboon made Corporal in the South African army, and honestly I still cannot get over…

2 months ago
The Potato Paradox That Makes Your Brain Hurt Over 98 Percent Water

The Potato Paradox That Makes Your Brain Hurt Over 98 Percent Water

Drop the hydration from 99 percent to 98 percent and watch a 100 kg sack instantly…

2 months ago
A Shattered Leg At Saratoga Led To A Boot Monument With No Name

A Shattered Leg At Saratoga Led To A Boot Monument With No Name

History really forgets its manners when we decide to memorialise a missing boot instead of the…

2 months ago
MI5 Raided A Crossword Writer For Printing Invasion Codes

MI5 Raided A Crossword Writer For Printing Invasion Codes

MI5 stepped in and took the puzzle maker into custody after spotting military terms in the…

2 months ago
A Virginia merchant’s two residences anchored both the earliest clash and latest surrender of the national conflict.

A Virginia merchant’s two residences anchored both the earliest clash and latest surrender of the national conflict.

A wholesale trader’s two properties ended up framing both the opening skirmish and closing capitulation of…

2 months ago