Today’s lesson: You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, even if those flies are stealing the honeypot.
Leopold Karlsberg was held up in the hallway of his home at 5030 Woodlawn avenue late Saturday and was robbed of $150, his keyring and some documents. Last night he received a telephone call from one of the robbers, who asked him if he would pay a reward for the papers and keys.
Mr. Karlsberg replied that the loss of his cash made payment impossible. The caller remarked that he had been a nice victim and that as a result of the liking his robbers had for him they would throw the property back into his hallway. An hour later the documents and keys were found where the bandits said they would be.
– The Chicago Tribune, 1933
Many thanks to my cousin and friend-of-the-blog Esther for bringing to my attention today’s clip, which features her great-great-grandfather Leopold. I can confirm that niceness and unassailable logic are heritable traits that have been passed down in spades to Leopold’s descendants.
Incidentally, Esther co-hosts the delightful “The Podcast at Dawn’s House,” which focuses on a historical era closer to our own time: the iconic Baby-Sitters Club books. You should check it out.
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Recent Posts You
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Did you click through Facebook or Twitter? We got lucky—don’t let social media algorithms keep you from seeing a post! Save yourself a click, and subscribe to have stories delivered to your inbox as soon as they’re published.
Disclaimer: The modern era is far from the first to grapple with rampant “fake news.” As I am neither a historian nor journalist, I make no claims about the accuracy or lack thereof of the above sources. I assert only that they make for a good story.