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\\nIn 1880, freethinking attorney George Walser tried a new experiment in the American heartland -- a community dedicated against Christianity, "the only town of its size in the world without a priest, preacher, saloon, God or hell." In this week\'s episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we\'ll tell the story of Liberal, Missouri -- its founding, its confrontations with its Christian neighbors, and its ironic downfall.
\\nWe\'ll also puzzle over how a woman can suddenly be 120 miles away in just a few minutes.
\\n\\nSources for our feature on Liberal, Mo.:
\\nJ.P. Moore, This Strange Town -- Liberal, Missouri: A History of the Early Years, 1880 to 1910, 1963.
\\nLawrence O. Christensen, William E. Foley, and Gary Kremer, Dictionary of Missouri Biography, 1999.
\\nTom Flynn, ed., The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief, 2007.
\\nSteve Everly, "History of Southwest Missouri Town Shows Triumph of Faith Over Skepticism,"\\xa0Nevada Daily Mail, Dec. 26, 2001.
\\nMarvin Vangilder, "Missouri Town Might Assure Stockton as Atheist Target,"\\xa0Associated Press, Sept. 4, 1963.
\\n"Necrology,"\\xa0Missouri Historical Review, July 1910.
\\n"Missouri Geography: Community Experiments," in Walter Barlow Stevens, Missouri the Center State: 1821-1915, Volume 2, 1915.
\\nGeorge Henry Walser, The Life and Teachings of Jesus, 1909.
\\nThis week\'s lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener David White, who sent these corroborating\\xa0links (warning -- these spoil the puzzle).
\\nYou can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes\\xa0or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset.
\\nPlease 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.
\\nYou can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website.
\\nMany thanks to Doug Ross\\xa0for the music in this episode.
\\nIf you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!
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