Truth is stranger than fiction. Yes, that’s a cliché. But sometimes it’s true. Nowadays fiction writers are expected to produce stories that ring true. Even if it’s a genre like fantasy, the story has to feel plausible within the constructs of the world built by the fantasy author. Non-fiction, on the other hand, almost has to feel impossible. It must leave you saying “No way!”
Hopefully these stories do that for you. I start with a story passed down from my grandfather. Do you have family stories that are so unbelievable they couldn’t make a good movie plot, because the viewer would shake their head? If so, share them in the comments. Maybe they’ll appear in a future blog!
Trains and Automobiles (sorry, no planes)
1928, Moore Haven, FL – The cargo train lurched and groaned and thudded sideways. The conductor, Glenn Warner, leaped off the caboose to survey the damage. His worst fears, confirmed. Derailment. And Glenn knew the hard-charging Orange Blossom Special from the Northeast was due any minute.
Any night the speedy Orange Blossom Special was running, Warner’s lumbering cargo train pulled into the turnout here to let it fly past. But they hadn’t made the turnout on this night. The luxury passenger train wouldn’t have time to stop, especially in the dark. Disaster awaited.
Glenn didn’t wait for the engineer. He grabbed his lantern and scrambled up the embankment to the roadway. He managed to flag down a passing car. He hung on the running board of the Model T as the driver raced north alongside the tracks.
There it was. The Orange Blossom’s headlight. Warner leaped off the car and slid down to the tracks. He waved the lantern frantically, in a pattern to signal an emergency to the engineer. Thankfully, he heard the screech of the brakes being applied. But had it been in time? The train began to slow, but still it rumbled past.
Glenn hitched a ride with a car headed the other way to the scene of the derailment. Glenn was relieved to see that the Blossom had barely stopped in time, less than 100 yards from the wrecked cargo train. He climbed the steps of the Blossom’s engine car to speak with the engineer.
His relief turned to shock. The engineer was Glenn’s father.
Sweet Kiss of Death
Historic Belmont Park, June 4th, 1923. What a place to be jockeying only your second race of your life. Adding to the challenge, the race was a steeplechase, with obstacles for horse and rider to leap over as they circled the famous track.
22-year-old Frank Hayes knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime. He’d dropped over 10 pounds to prepare for the race. He felt grateful to the horse’s owner, Miss Frayling, for giving him this shot. If he could guide this 20-1 longshot, named Sweet Kiss, to victory, it could jumpstart his career (pun intended).
Sweet Kiss got off to a great start, and bounded flawlessly over the jumps. As they rounded the final turn, Frank hung on, leaning forward in the saddle in perfect racing position. The crowd couldn’t believe this longshot could stay out front, but Sweet Kiss and Frank managed to cross the finish line about one length ahead (reports vary to how close the final margin was).
Sweet Kiss continued trotting 100 yards, toward the judges stand. Frank remained hunched in his racing position. What was he doing? The horse stopped near the judges, and Frank tumbled out of the saddle to the ground. Medical staff finally realized something was wrong, and raced out to check on the popular trainer-turned-jockey. Sadly, they declared him dead on the scene.
Frank became the first deceased jockey to cross the finish line aboard the winning horse. He’d suffered a heart attack somewhere along the way, likely due to dropping so much weight right before the race. Sweet Kiss never raced again, as no other jockey would dare ride him.
Halley’s Comet Kills King Edward VII
Okay, you got me. The comet didn’t actually kill him. But quite a few people thought it did.
In 1910, scientists knew the comet would travel relatively close to earth. But fears of a collision were quickly put to rest by their calculations. However, a French scientist named Camille Flammarion warned that Earth would pass through the tail, a long trail of debris of dust and gas from solar winds, and that the gas portion of the tail contained chemicals that would destroy all life on our planet.
Flammarion was an outlier in the scientific community, but his predictions spread worldwide panic as the comet became visible in April. People bought gas masks, manufactured pills to supposedly counteract the gases, and held end-of-the-world parties. When King Edward died in his bed unexpectedly on May 6th, many decried that the comet had claimed its first victim.
Even more celebrations were held when the comet passed, and life on earth survived. As for King Edward, he suffered from numerous maladies, but pushed through, hard-working to the end. What ultimately killed him? A heart condition, brought on by bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis and battles with cancer… or cosmic dust?
Booth Saves Lincoln
Late 1864 – The well-known stage actor waited on the crowded stage. Train stage, that is. Booth shifted closer to the edge of the platform, the back of which was blocked by another train. A man leaning against the train seemed to recognize him. Booth got that all the time. Suddenly, the train began to move. The startled stranger couldn’t stop himself from tumbling onto the tracks.
Booth reacted quickly. Before the chugging wheels could reach the fallen man, Booth grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back onto the stage. Shaken, the man thanked Booth profusely for saving him from serious injury, and perhaps death.
Weeks later, Edwin Booth received a letter from his friend in the Union army, Col. Adam Badeau, who congratulated Edwin on saving the president’s son. Richard Todd Lincoln had recognized the stage actor and reported his bravery. Edwin, a staunch Union supporter, had saved the day.
Less than a year later, Edwin’s brother assassinated Richard Todd’s father, Abraham Lincoln, at Ford’s Theater.
Rabbits Force Napoleon Retreat
Napoleon Bonaparte’s most embarrassing defeat did not occur at Waterloo. No, it was at the paws of hundreds or thousands of long-eared bunnies.
In 1807, he arranged for a rabbit hunt. To make sure the hunt was successful, his aides rounded up all the local tame rabbits they could find. The hunt began, the rabbits were released, and they all ran…charging directly at Napoleon and his men. Turns out, the tame rabbits saw humans as a food source rather than a threat. Looking for handouts, the tiny beasts stormed their hunters, overwhelming them. Napoleon dashed to his carriage and fled from the scary scene.
Mistaken Identity – Funeral Held in Honor of Wrong Girl
Two blond girls, in the same van, returning to the same school. The driver of an approaching semi falls asleep. A tragic head-on collision kills five of the nine Taylor University students and staff in the van, including one of the girls. The other, badly injured, is rushed to the hospital. Authorities identify Laura van Ryn as the surviving girl, while listing Whitney Cerak among the dead after finding her purse near the body.
You might have already heard this story, as it made national news. The families appeared on Oprah, MSNBC, and other outlets long after it was determined that Whitney was the actual survivor. But as a proud Taylor University graduate, I had to include this story in my list of stories that would seem absurd as a fictional movie premise.
Laura’s body was buried during a ceremony for Whitney, attended by 1400 well-wishers. Laura’s family, meanwhile, held vigil with Whitney in the hospital, thinking she was their Laura. The mistaken identity was finally discovered five weeks later, during Whitney’s slow recovery, when she was finally able to write her name down for others to read. Whitney’s family rushed to the hospital, stunned to learn their Whitney was alive. The two families have remained close to this day, bonded by the event and their faith.
The aftermath of this story is chronicled nicely in the Detroit Free Press 10 years after the event.
Lost and Alone, Over 28 Hours, in the Ocean. No Life Raft. No Life Preserver.
Brett Archibald and his buddies had reunited for a once-in-a-lifetime surfing trip to a remote part of Indonesia. But something they’d eaten that night had made them all sick. And now, aboard their night-passage charter boat, Brett finds himself leaning over the rail, unable to hold anything down. Brett temporarily loses consciousness. He comes to when he hits the water, in time to see the lights of the boat yards away.
Nobody had seen him fall. Nobody hears his shouts. Soon the lights disappear in the distance. Storms rage nearby. And he’s sixty miles from the nearest shore. His friends don’t realize he’s missing until the next day at port, when a frantic search reveals that he is gone.
Brett stays afloat for hours. The next day, a rescue comes oh-so-close. He sees his friends in the charter, searching for him. Their boat even stops. He screams at them. Swims toward them. But they don’t see him. They motor away, searching, but not finding.
I would have given up. But Brett never does. Neither does his wife back in South Africa. And thankfully, neither does the captain of another boat, named the Doris, who doesn’t even know Brett, but somehow believes he’s alive. The Doris continues searching even when other give up. Another night passes. Miraculously, the captain and his crew find Brett, somehow still alive in the middle of the sea. Here is footage of Brett being hauled out of the water: Rescue Video
Brett’s memoir, Alone, chronicles his story of survival. I’m not a huge memoir reader, but this is a fascinating tale. Brett details the mental challenges of the ordeal: hallucinations, the regrets, the memories, the cycle of anger then repentance toward God.
Astronaut Wife Stowaway to Space? Nah…
Suddenly Helen Garriott, wife of Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott, begins speaking to Capcom back in Houston. Has she stowed away? Or is it one of the best astronaut pranks ever pulled off?
A prank. Helen pre-recorded her voice over the radio with pauses, to make it sound like she was responding to Houston. Below is Owen’s recollection of her “conversation” that he initiated from Skylab:
Helen’s voice: “Hello, Houston, this is Skylab.”
Capcom in Houston, Bob Crippen: “Well, hello, Skylab. Who is this?”
Helen’s voice: “Hi, there, Bob, this is Helen.”
Crippen: “What are you doing up there?”
Helen’s voice: “Well, we just came up to bring the boys a fresh meal, or a hot cooked meal. They haven’t had one for quite a while. We thought they might enjoy that.”
Crippen: “How did you get there?”
Helen’s voice: “Oh, we just flew up. We’ve been looking at those forest fires that they have all over California. It’s a beautiful sight from up here. Well, I see the boys are floating in my direction. I’ve got to get off the line. I’m not supposed to be talking to you. See you later, Bob.”
Help on the ground – Bob Crippen, who later became a shuttle astronaut and the director of the Kennedy Space Center, was in on it. He read his lines perfectly in response to the transmission from Skylab. I’ve read multiple accounts that claim Bob Crippen was stunned to hear a female voice. Those accounts are wrong – Crippen played his part beautifully!
Did it work? Garriott relates that 20 years later, he talked to a member of the ground crew who still had no idea what had happened. Now that’s a successful prank!
See my BANAL about lesser-known astronauts for this and other interesting space stories.
Auschwitz Resistance Hero Executed for Treason by Homeland
Why did I volunteer for this? God, how could you allow such evil? I was right to stand up to the growing anti-Semitism emerging within the resistance group I founded. Look what it’s led to! The truth must get out!
I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through the head of Witold Pilecki as he discovered the truth from within Auschwitz. He had volunteered to go there, following an internal power struggle within the Polish resistance groups. Now he knew. This was not internment camp for prisoners. This was a death camp.
Inside Auschwitz, Pilecki organized cells of resistance. He smuggled out documents, made a radio of spare parts, and prepared secret reports. As the Germans closed in on the identities of the resistance leaders, he launched a daring escape for himself. I’d love to write a more detailed account of his journey to freedom. Shot during the escape, he survived, and managed to rejoin the Polish resistance. But Pilecki never convinced the allies to liberate Auschwitz until near the end of the war.
This hero’s reward? Hard to believe…
After the war, Poland became a puppet of the Soviet Union’s communist government. But Pilecki remained loyal to the Polish government in exile, never hiding his allegiances. Angered, and perhaps afraid of Pilecki, the Soviets sent the secret police to arrest him.
After a show trial, he was sentenced to death. The communists hid details of his heroism, so the truth about his bravery did not emerge until long after his demise. He was executed by gunshot on May 25th, 1948.
