Sam Maverick was a rancher and a politician in the 19th-century. DAn early animal rights activist, Maverick refused to brand his cattle because he believed it to be cruel.
His rivals had another story, however. They said he didn’t brand his property because he could then claim any unbranded cow to be his own.
In 1917 the Shortest Debate Ever Recorded Was Held
In Chicago, an interesting debate was held titled, “Resolved: That People Who Attend Literary Debates are Imbeciles.”
Perhaps more of an early kind of performance art or statement piece, the debaters only made it through one round. The first said, “the affirmative rests,” to which his opponent replied, “You win.”
PBR Truly Did Receive a Blue Ribbon
In 1893 the famous Pabst Blue Ribbon won a blue ribbon at the World’s Fair.
Nowadays we don’t think the famously cheap beer would be so lucky.
This Killer Escaped from A Second-Story Window
Famous psycho-killer Ted Bundy made quite the escape during a break in his 1977 preliminary hearing. He was in the courthouse and asked to be allowed to move to the court library in order to research his case.
Though Serial Killers are notoriously untrustworthy, Bundy was allowed to go to the library because he was serving as his own attorney in the case. He escaped from a second-story window instead but was caught a week later. We can’t imagine this maneuver helped his case very much.
A Vial of Blood Made 23 Hospital Staff Members Sick
Gloria Ramirez, a 31-year-old woman suffering from cervical cancer went to the emergency room in Riverside, California one day as she was in the late stages of her illness. Her blood was transferred between the hands of quite a few nurses and all of them subsequently reported feeling light-headed and nauseated.
Strangely, 23 staff members became ill after coming into contact with Ramirez’s blood and 5 even had to stay over in the hospital. Sadly, Ramirez passed not long after.