Did anyone ever escape from Alcatraz?
During its nearly 30 years of operation (from 1934 to 1963), the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay housed some of America’s most notorious felons, including gangsters Al “Scarface”...
View ArticleWas Jack the Ripper a woman?
One of history’s oldest unsolved mysteries is the identity of Jack the Ripper, the infamous serial killer who stalked and murdered at least five women in London’s East End in 1888. The brutality of the...
View ArticleWho was responsible for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre?
Perhaps the most famous unsolved crime in U.S. history took place on February 14, 1929, when police officers called to a garage on the North Side of Chicago found seven men lined up against a bare...
View ArticleWhat is Stockholm syndrome?
Aside from the famous six-day hostage situation at the Sveriges Kreditbanken in Stockholm from which its name is derived, Stockholm syndrome is perhaps most famously associated with the iconic photo of...
View ArticleHow did the Ponzi scheme get its name?
A Ponzi scheme is a “rob Peter to pay Paul” financial scam in which early investors are paid returns with money from later investors rather than legitimate investment activities. The most notorious...
View ArticleWhy are British police officers called “Bobbies”?
The concept of modern policing has its roots in pre-Victorian England, when the British home minister, Sir Robert Peel (1778-1850), oversaw the creation of London’s first organized police force. Before...
View ArticleWho is the Miranda warning named for?
“You have the right to remain silent.” You’ve probably heard those words, which are part of the Miranda warning, on countless TV shows following a criminal suspect’s arrest. Thanks to a 1966 landmark...
View ArticleWho was D.B. Cooper?
The man who approached the Northwest Orient Airlines counter on the afternoon of November 24, 1971, said his name was Dan Cooper (“D.B.” was a distortion that later appeared in the press). He asked for...
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