May 5, 2014
In 1888 a mixed-breed terrier appointed himself mascot of
America's railway postal service, accompanying mailbags throughout
the U.S. and eventually traveling around the world. In this week's
episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll recount Owney's postal
adventures and the wave of human affection that followed him.
We'll also look at an Air Force pilot who dropped candy on
parachutes to besieged German children in 1948, learn the link
between drug lord Pablo Escobar and feral hippos in Colombia, and
present the next Futility Closet Challenge.