BROADCASTS.com

b'

In 1916 an American circus elephant named Mary was hanged before a crowd of 3,000 onlookers. In this week\'s episode of the Futility Closet podcast we\'ll review the sad series of events\\xa0that led Mary to a Tennessee railroad crane.

We\'ll also get an update on a very inventive bank robbery and puzzle over the escalators in London\'s Tube stations.

Our feature on Mary\\xa0was based chiefly on Charles Edwin Price\'s 1992 book The Day They Hung the Elephant.

Our first lateral thinking puzzle this week was contributed by listener Paul Sophocleous. The second is from Kyle Hendrickson\'s 1998 book Mental Fitness Puzzles.

Here are two\\xa0links with more information about the bank robbery described in Episode 58\'s puzzle. (Warning -- spoilers!)

Enter coupon code CLOSET at Harry\'s\\xa0to get $5 off a special Father\'s Day razor set.

You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes\\xa0or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset.

Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page\\xa0you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we\'ve set up some rewards to help thank you for your support.

You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website.

Many thanks to Doug Ross\\xa0for the music in this episode.

If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at\\xa0podcast@futilitycloset.com. You can also follow us on Facebook\\xa0and Twitter. Thanks for listening!