He lived briefly with his grandfather in Maine, where he worked as an apprentice plumber. McCurdy lost his job in August 1900 due to an economic downturn. In 1907, he joined the army where he learned how to use nitroglycerin, an active ingredient in explosives production. He was discharged from the military in 1910.
McCurdy’s life of crime began shortly after leaving the army. He joined a gang of bandits that robbed banks and trains. His first major robbery with the gang was the Iron Mountain-Missouri Pacific train. The robbery was unsuccessful, however, since McCurdy miscalculated the amount of nitroglycerin needed and ended up destroying a safe that contained $4,000. The gang’s major bank robbery also failed after they unsuccessfully tried to blow open a safe door.
His final robbery occurred on October 4th, 1911. Elmer McCurdy and his gang of bandits decided to rob a Katy train carrying $400,000 in cash. As their luck would follow, they ended up stopping the wrong train. Frantically they began searching for the money. Nevertheless, their efforts proved futile. They only managed to steal $46, a watch, and two jugs of whiskey. Upon realizing their failure, the gang stopped their mission and decided to escape. The robbery implicated McCurdy, and a reward for his capture was issued. A sheriff’s posse tracked McCurdy to the barn where he’d been hiding and surrounded him. Elmer McCurdy started a gunfight with the police that lasted for an hour. McCurdy was shot in the chest and died instantly.
McCurdy’s body was taken to the Johnson Funeral Home in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. He had no immediate kin to claim the body, so it was preserved in hopes that someone would claim it. Several weeks elapsed, and still, no one showed up to claim the body. The funeral homeowner decided to embalm the body and dress him in a suit. He put up the body for public exhibition, charging people 5 cents just to take a look. For five long years, Elmer’s body remained in the Oklahoma funeral home, till one day it was claimed. Two men, James, and Charles Patterson showed up at the funeral home and requested the body. They identified themselves as Elmer McCurdy’s long-lost brothers. The funeral director was a bit suspicious of the two, but since the attraction fell out of favor, he decided to let go of the body. He also felt that McCurdy deserved a decent burial after an extended stay in the funeral home.
Eventually, the body ended up at the “Laff In the Dark” funhouse in Long Beach, California. It was discovered in 1976 by a production crew of the TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man.” They didn’t realize the corpse was real until McCurdy’s arm broke off. The police took the mummified corpse to the coroner’s office, where the autopsy results confirmed that the body was indeed that of a human male. McCurdy’s body was finally laid to rest in 1977 in Oklahoma after traveling the country for nearly sixty years, from carnival circuits to Hollywood. The casket is buried under two feet of concrete to make sure no one exhumes the grave.
Exactly how big does a land-based vehicle need to be to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records as largest in the world? How about 315 feet tall, 740 feet long, and weighing over 31 million pounds?
The Bagger 293 is a giant bucket-wheel excavator built in Germany in 1995. It requires a crew of five to operate and can move over 8.5 million cubic feet of earth per day. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent of digging a hole the length of a football field and over 80 feet deep in a day.
Fantasy Glades is located in a paradisiac area recognized as one of a kind on the Port Macquarie beachside. In 2009, Shane and Karen Hay from Queensland took charge of the property. They planned to reopen the park as soon as possible, but they needed funds and council approval. These tasks became problematic when the health of the owners took a dive. However, in a turn of events, Jeff Crowe later announced he had acquired the site in 2015. The park owners’ initial idea was to develop a children’s Fairy Tale Theme Park. Interestingly, even then, the now deserted park’s main attractions reflected the renowned artiste Brothers Grimm’s work. Further, part of the park’s cherished riches was generally derived from the values cultivated by George and Rosemary Whitaker, who were the founding owners. Fantasy Glades is currently raising awareness about finding a new owner who would be willing to undergo a massive renovation. Social media has had a considerable influence in trying to “save” the beloved property. There were even rumored plans to create a new, environmentally-friendly accommodation center that will serve hundreds of tourists who regularly visit Port Macquarie on holiday.
The land that Fantasy Glades sits on is impressive. The park covers four acres of tropical rainforests, approximately two hectares of land. It’s located in an area next to the beautiful Shelley Beach. The natural patch of bushland aids in the magical quality surrounding the property. This area of land can be used for many things. You could build a dream home, establish an artist’s retreat, open a caravan park, or start a fanciful bed and breakfast. You may even choose to purchase and refurbish the famous theme park and let tourists access the park once again. Fantasy Glades first became available for purchase beginning March 2008. Its price is currently-tagged at $560,000, or a trade value of $210,000. With the price tag comes a significant amount of work. Left alone for many years, that park has fallen to vandals and their graffiti, broken windows, decaying architecture, and overgrowth from the surrounding land.
Fantasy Glades is a magnificent jewel- it is no wonder it once won wide international acclaim. The enchanted idyllic forest that characterizes the park has several scattered fairy tale stories that greatly enrich the four-acre property. Among these are priceless elements of the Magic Dragon Cave, the Crooked Man’s House, the Old Woman in the Shoe’s shoe, and a creepy Old Witch’s Cottage. The park also features other beautiful attractions, including the Seven Dwarves’ famous bedroom, the magnificent Snow White’s Cottage, and other fairy tale hideaways.
The classic fairy tale experience that inspired Fantasy Glade’s original character has given it a peculiar, magical setting. Without a doubt, the park retains a massive potential for a future revival. The surrounding community would love to see its rebirth and profit from its reopening as well. Happily, the beautiful Fantasy Glades current owners would prefer to turn over this priceless resource to people who can bring it back to life. Could you be the one to restore the fairy tale magic?
This New Zealand protectorate is one of the most isolated communities in the world. Palmerston Island is the westernmost islet of a coral atoll belonging to the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Just sixty two people – all from the same bloodline – occupy the remote island, which sits approximately 2,000 miles (3,200 km) northeast of New Zealand and 2,850 miles (4,590 km) southwest of Hawaii.
While the enclave is an island utopia, paradise comes at a cost: Palmerston lacks an airport, gas station, grocer, and hospital. There are no cars, marinas, hotels, or restaurants. Yet despite this lack of amenities, one family has managed to prosper on the island for over one hundred and fifty years.
