Last week while I was at airport, I came across this great store called “Firefly”, which carries everything from books to childrens toys to novelty items. I picked up a bunch of magazines and a few books for my long flights. One of the books I picked up was called “The Book of the Bizarre” and was filled with freaky facts and strange stories. It was really fun to read. I wanted to share of few of the strangest stories with you…

Fleming was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. The nobleman offered to repay Farmer Fleming for saving his son’s life, but the farmer would not accept payment. At that moment, Farmer Fleming’s own son came to the door of the family hovel. The nobleman and the farmer struck up a deal that he would provide Farmer Fleming’s son with the same level of education that his son would enjoy. His son attended the very best schools, and in time, graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. He went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son’s name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Queen Christina of Sweden, who ruled in the 1600s, had a tiny problem – she was absolutely terrified of fleas. She was so afraid, in fact, that she commissioned the construction of a tiny cannon for her bedroom, which used to fire itty-bitty cannonballs at the pesky critters. No word on how good a shot she was but apparently it was an activity she spent hour per day on.

In Bermuda, in 1974 and 1976, two brothers were killed in strikingly similar accidents. The first was riding a moped when he was struck and killed by a taxi. One year later, the man’s brother, riding the same moped, was struck by the same taxi driver who had killed the first man, and the taxi was carrying the same passenger.

First written September 8, 2009