AmeriWeird

The Bat Bomb

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 16:05:55 +0000

In January 1942, a Pennsylvania dental surgeon named Lytle S. Adams wrote to the White House with a wild idea: strap tiny timed napalm bombs to hibernating Mexican free-tailed bats, drop them over Japan, and let the bats carry fire into the eaves and attics of wooden cities. President Roosevelt approved it. The weapon — a casing of more than a thousand bats — was tested at Carlsbad, New Mexico, where armed bats got loose and burned down much of their own airfield, and later at a mock Japanese village in Utah, where officials judged it an effective weapon. Cancelled in 1944 at a cost of about $2 million, it was never used in war. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Wow! Signal

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:19:33 +0000

On August 15, 1977, Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope recorded a strong, narrowband signal from the direction of Sagittarius — 72 seconds long, about 30 times stronger than background noise, right next to the 1420 MHz hydrogen line. Days later, astronomer Jerry Ehman found it on a paper printout, circled the intensity code "6EQUJ5" in red pen, and wrote "Wow!" in the margin. It appeared in only one of the telescope's two feed horns, leaving two possible positions in the sky — and despite searches with Big Ear, the Very Large Array, and a 2022 Breakthrough Listen campaign, it has never been heard again or explained. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The War of the Worlds Panic

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 15:18:09 +0000

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre turned H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds into fake breaking news — dance music interrupted by bulletins of a Martian landing at Grover's Mill, New Jersey. Some listeners were genuinely frightened and called police and newspapers. The next morning, front pages coast to coast reported a nationwide panic. But ratings taken that night show only about 2 percent of homes were listening at all — and historians now say the great panic was largely invented by newspapers competing with radio. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Cardiff Giant Hoax

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 14:40:00 +0000

On October 16, 1869, two men digging a well in Cardiff, New York uncovered a 10-foot-4-inch, nearly 3,000-pound "petrified man" — and thousands paid 50 cents a look. It was a plant: tobacconist George Hull had the giant carved from Iowa gypsum in secret, aged it with acid, and buried it for nearly a year after an argument over the Bible's giants. Then P.T. Barnum, refused a sale, made his own copy and called the original a fake — until a court declared both giants fakes. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Pig War

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:34:00 +0000

On June 15, 1859, American farmer Lyman Cutlar shot a British Hudson's Bay Company pig that kept eating his potatoes on disputed San Juan Island — offered $10, was charged $100, and refused. Within weeks, U.S. troops and British warships faced off over the island, and the standoff settled into a 12-year joint occupation. Its only casualty was the pig. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The D.B. Cooper Hijacking

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:24:00 +0000

On November 24, 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 out of Portland, traded 36 passengers in Seattle for $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes, then jumped out the back of the jet at 10,000 feet on a rainy night — and was never found. In 1980, an 8-year-old digging at Tena Bar on the Columbia River found $5,800 of the ransom. It is still the only unsolved air piracy in U.S. commercial aviation history. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Dog Mayors

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 14:38:00 +0000

In 2014, Cormorant, Minnesota elected a 7-year-old Great Pyrenees named Duke as its honorary mayor — he served four terms and once won every vote except one, which went to his girlfriend. Rabbit Hash, Kentucky has elected dog mayors since 1998, and a golden retriever dynasty has run Idyllwild, California since 2012. Every job is honorary, every election is a fundraiser, and every mayor is a very good dog. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

Centralia: The Town That Caught Fire

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 19:20:00 +0000

In May 1962 a fire got into the coal mines under Centralia, Pennsylvania — and it never went out. It poisoned the air, opened a 150-foot sinkhole under a 12-year-old boy, cracked the highway, and erased a town of a thousand people down to five. It's still burning, and could burn for another 250 years. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Max Headroom Hijacking

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 22:35:00 +0000

On November 22, 1987, someone hijacked the broadcast signals of WGN-TV and WTTW in Chicago — interrupting a sports segment and an episode of Doctor Who with a person in a Max Headroom mask, spanking himself with a flyswatter on live TV. The intruder overpowered the stations' studio-to-transmitter microwave links. The FCC and FBI investigated. It was never solved. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Kentucky Meat Shower

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 21:25:00 +0000

On March 3, 1876, chunks of meat fell from a clear sky over Bath County, Kentucky — covering a 100-by-50-yard area. Two men tasted it. Scientists found real lung, muscle, and cartilage. The leading theory? Vulture vomit. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Great Molasses Flood

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:50:00 +0000

On January 15, 1919, a steel tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst in Boston's North End — a 25-foot wave at 35 miles an hour killed 21 people and injured 150. The company blamed anarchists; investigators blamed shoddy construction. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Great Wisconsin Cheese Heist

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000

In January 2016, 41,000 pounds of cheese worth about $90,000 vanished from a Marshfield, Wisconsin warehouse — and the thieves were never caught. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.

The Bosak Encounter

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:50:00 +0000

In December 1974, dairy farmer William Bosak reported a close encounter outside Frederic, Wisconsin — a dark craft with a transparent front, and a hairy humanoid figure staring back at him. The report was investigated by APRO and classified a close encounter of the third kind. I'm Nate, and this is AmeriWeird: strange but true stories from across America.