OCTOBER 20, 1939

Full News Archive

• Headline: Judge Martin's Removal Hearing Controversy. Impact: The courtroom drama sparked a series of legal thrillers that would inspire a generation of terrible courtroom TV shows. Who knew a $763 loan could lead to the downfall of the legal drama genre?. Fact: If only Judge Martin had known that pawnshops don't accept IOUs from legal fees, he might have avoided this mess..
• Headline: Orders Steel Scrap Survey. Impact: The survey kickstarted an unexpected obsession with scrap metal that would lead to the founding of several hipster art movements. Who would have thought rusty junk could be so trendy?. Fact: Steel and iron scrap surveys are probably the most exciting thing to happen to scrap metal since... well, ever!.
• Headline: ANNUAL OIL WASTE PUT AT $1,000,000,000; Expert of Resources Board Urges Strict Conservation. Impact: This alarming statistic woke everyone up to the fact that wasting a billion dollars is a bad idea, leading to a national obsession with couponing and thrift stores.. Fact: If you think $1,000,000,000 in oil waste is shocking, just wait until you see how much money people waste on avocado toast!.
• Headline: 4 Jailed for Jersey Hold-Up. Impact: The Jersey hold-up became the stuff of legend, inspiring a whole genre of crime films that romanticized the idea of robbing payrolls—because who doesn't want a life of crime and regret?. Fact: Four people in jail for a payroll robbery is just another Tuesday in America, right?.
• Headline: PREDICTS 'GHOST' PLANES; De Forest Says Bombers Will Be Guided by Radio. Impact: Dr. De Forest's prediction of 'ghost planes' led to a rise in conspiracy theories about invisible aircraft, resulting in an entire subculture dedicated to hunting for UFOs disguised as military bombers.. Fact: Ghost planes: the only thing scarier than actual planes. Because who needs tangible threats when you can have imaginary ones?.
• Headline: NAZIS WARN TURKS; Imply They Might Share Poles' Fate--Pact Held Threat to Balkans SOVIET TALKS ARE PUSHED German Hint at Cooperation With Russia 'in All Fields' in Reply to Allied Gain. Impact: The Nazis’ warning to the Turks shifted alliances in ways that would later make board games like Risk look like child’s play, with everyone secretly plotting betrayals.. Fact: Negotiating with Nazis is a bit like playing chess with a toddler—it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt..
• Headline: CHRYSLER DELAYS STATE MEDIATION; Negotiations With Union Continue, and Such Action is Not Needed Now, Says CompanyC.I.O. CHIEF HITS STANDThomas, Replying to Weckler,Assails the Corporation'sLabor Record. Impact: Chrysler's mediation delays led to a series of negotiations that would later be cited as the reason for every corporate meeting dragging on longer than a bad movie sequel.. Fact: The only thing worse than a delayed contract negotiation is realizing you’re stuck in one without snacks..
• Headline: More Gehrigs and DiMaggios Are Needed To Help Fight Crime, Alcatraz Head Says. Impact: Warden Johnson's plea for more Gehrigs and DiMaggios inadvertently launched a new trend in crime prevention: celebrity endorsements for social clubs, which led to a spike in crime documentaries.. Fact: Who knew the solution to crime was just more baseball? Next up: 'The Great American Pastime vs. The Criminal Mind.'.