If a train leaves London Paddington station at nine o’clock in the year 1841, and takes two hours to travel to Bristol, what time does it arrive? Perhaps surprisingly for a British train, the answer is eleven minutes earlier than you might have calculated, leaves on the line or not. (more…)
Left: Sir Roger, Right: Orton
On Christmas Eve 1866, a ship from Panama docked in England, listing among its passengers one Sir Roger Charles Tichborne, heir to an English baronetcy and £20,000. This was a notable homecoming, to say the least. Roger Tichborne had been reported drowned at sea some twelve years previously, and presumed dead by all but his aged mother. (more…)
Weird history is a blog of bizarre facts, tall tales and historical oddities.